


I Hold a Wolf by the Ears

by Nuke



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: For i am a weenie., Major character death... eventually... don't worry about it, There is violence but I wouldn't consider it severely graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 23,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26278780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuke/pseuds/Nuke
Summary: The early life and times of a troubled Wasteland girl. Surely with a General for a mother and a Paladin for a father, she'll turn out alright.
Comments: 27
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a whole lot of chapters, but the majority are very short. They're not usually directly connected and there's implied time passage between them. I'm just trying to move things along, here.

She remembered the dark. The crushing weight of the roof above her was pushing down, down against her until she was in the dirt. It stifled the horrible scent of flames, but it couldn't drown out the screams.

Almost every night she dreamed of that memory. Everyone around her was screaming through the fire, but she stayed silent. Maybe that's why she survived. She remembered wanting to dig a whole into the soft floor, to bury herself and hide forever.

But every morning she wakes up, and she's safe. Safe in her little shed in the corner of the Castle's yard. And every morning she gets out of her little bed, the one they made for her, and she goes outside. Usually, the sun is shining. Even if the sky is covered in clouds, it's brighter than where she came from.

In the mornings, she skips across the Castle's big yard. Everyone gets out of her way, but they smile and greet her cheerfully. Sometimes they call her "Little Revy". She had never seen so many smiling people. Even though her sandy hair was dirty and unkempt, her tanned skin was smudged, and she was always holding her little knife, all the people at the Castle smile at her. Like they haven't given up on her.

And eventually she makes it to the room of the people who saved her. The woman who picked her up and took her from that terrible place, and the man she spoke very fondly to. She always knocks on the door with her little fist, and they let her in with big smiles.

That one special morning, she decided, she would start calling them "Mom" and "Dad". She had parents once before, but she couldn't really remember them. These new ones were just fine, she thought. Just perfect for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Her mother's eyes were gray like a cloudy sky, and her father's were deep brown like the earth. While her mother's eyes were always wide with curiosity and friendliness, and there was always a cheerful sunshine in her voice, her father sounded very serious, with his brow almost always furrowed. But his eyes remained loving and calm, even despite the large scar over the right one. She loved her parents' eyes; they were always looking down at her with nothing but love. Even when she got angry.

Because, despite being so far away from it, she still thought about her past.

She still thought about the terrible people who came to her old home. First, they took her parents from back then. She remembers how they laughed over her parents' screams. When they came back, they burned everything. She could never see their faces, and couldn't make out any words. Just screaming, laughter, and the tumbling, burning wood.

Remembering made her  _so_ angry. She knew there were still people like that in the world. Being held in the arms of her parents or someone else in her new family made her feel safe and wonderful, but she knew there were people outside the walls of the Castle, still. There were people who weren't safe, who didn't have strong arms to hold them. And she knew those people were being hurt by the ones who laughed at the pain they caused.

One day, her uncle Preston was hurt. He came home with a bandaged arm. It didn't matter to her that everyone called it a "minor wound", or that he still had a smile on his warm face when he told her he was fine. Before the guards could close the doors, she ran past them, knife ready.

The first thing she found was a dog. Not a normal dog, like her friend Dogmeat. It had become a mutated, aggressive monster, and she killed it. All she remembered was seeing it, and feeling her knife in her hand... and it was dead. She felt a few scrapes on her little arms, but the monster was dead. It felt like revenge to her, and it made her anger fade away. The relief was almost too much - she felt like she had solved every problem in the world.

Her father's stern warnings barely registered. He took her into his arms and scolded her for running off, for attacking something. It all passed right by her ears as she fell asleep, safe and happy.


	3. Chapter 3

Revy had a large family at the Castle. Other than her parents, she had several people she called "Uncle" or "Aunt" - like her Uncle Preston, and Aunt Piper, or her favorite of them all, Uncle Nick.

Nick is like Giskard, her mother told her. He was a person, like everyone else, but made out of metal and plastic. His eyes lit up in the dark, and he always felt cold.

Revy didn't mind one bit. Her Uncle Nick had a kind voice and always smiled. So he looked different - so what? She knew lots of people looked different, like the people called  _ghouls._ Some people found them scary, she was told, but she didn't understand that. As long as people were kind to her and her family, she liked them. No matter  _what_ they looked like.

Sometimes her mother walked with a cane. She explained to Revy that some time ago, her leg had been injured, and it bothered her occasionally. Some days, usually after a long time away from the Castle, she couldn't even get out of bed.

During those days, Revy's father would do his best to keep her mind free of worry. "She's alright, she just needs to rest," he would tell her, carrying her around the Castle and reciting its history. He told her about the war that happened so long ago, and how humans had led to their own downfall. The world, he said, had been broken.

Revy didn't quite see it that way. She looked around at her family, and up at her father. She thought about her mother, doing her best to improve everyone's lives. She knew nothing other than the world she had been born into. Things weren't always the greatest, but she had such a wonderful family and people who loved her. Surely, the world couldn't be  _that_ broken.

But her poor father... There was almost always a gloomy expression on his face. Even if it hid behind a smile sometimes, Revy could tell it was always lurking. Some of his days were very bad, and many times she caught him staring up at the Prydwen.

He truly felt much happier, with his life intact and his new family. From what he told his young daughter, being a soldier was very difficult. He had seen a lot of terrible things, and met many terrible people. It was the  _people_ , Revy was sure, that bothered him most. He didn't seem to have much faith in them, like her mother did.

So she hugged him a little tighter. She tried to say something, a collection of words that would put a smile on his face, like her mother always did. Anything she said seemed to cheer him up. She had listened to her mother a lot, and she tried her best to emulate her.

"Dad," She said, her face hidden in his chest. "Broken stuff just needs the right kind of glue."

He took a breath, wondering where she'd heard that before. Probably Sturges, he told himself. The two spent a lot of time together, with Sturges showing the little one how to take things apart and put them back together. Revy had shown particular interest in everything mechanical, which of course couldn't always be held together by the same substance used to bind wood.

Gently, he patted Revy on the back and thanked her. He wasn't sure what else to say, but he knew he would also thank Sturges later. For more things than just his conversations with Revy...


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Giskard](https://64.media.tumblr.com/31a58d249fba1b037f0842a6038bf010/cbae36758bd545dd-78/s1280x1920/f460287c69717f4cceee5031d666ba22aa4a0a9d.png), by Riftclaw on tumblr.

When she met her friend Giskard, she was able to go out more. Giskard was a big dog, bigger than Dogmeat. He was a little different, with his metal skin and glowing red eyes, but she loved him. He was a good dog, and a good friend. Her mother told him to protect her, and he nodded just like a person would. She was so happy to see her mother again; she had left for about a month (though Revy wasn't exactly keeping track), but she had brought her the most wonderful present in return.

"I'm Revy, and you're Giskard," she liked to say from atop his back, half-singing. The noise could have attracted unwanted attention, but she knew she was safe with him.

Giskard never said anything, but he seemed happy when she sang her off-key little songs. Sometimes a person or creature would see them, and most of the time they minded their own business. A lot of people walking around were Minutemen - like her parents - and they would give them a polite nod. Some were the bad people - Raiders - and they really liked to  _run_ when they saw Giskard.

When they were headed back toward the Castle, Giskard always looked up and off to the north. Hovering in the sky was something her parents called  _the Prydwen._ It was apparently a big ship full of people. To Revy, it didn't look so big, being so far away.

But she still didn't like it. Her mother told her about the man named Maxson, and what he had done to her father. Whatever the Brotherhood of Steel was, she knew she didn't like them.


	5. Chapter 5

Giskard was an amazing dog. She always knew it, but every day she felt it more and more. Everyone had come to accept him as a normal dog - even her father, who wasn't usually a fan of robots. He was among the many who enjoyed playing fetch with him.

Most people didn't know how different Giskard was. They couldn't know that he had his special way of talking with some people. It was hard for Revy to truly understand, but her parents had sat her down one day and explained that some people are called something else - synths. Sometimes they look different, like her Uncle Nick. And sometimes they don't, like her father or Uncle Sturges. Lately, she had seen the two talking to each other more.

It made her jealous, knowing that they could hear him and she couldn't. It made her wish she had been born a synth, so she could  _really_ talk to him, and he could talk back.

But then, she wondered, did she need to? She wandered out into the Commonwealth with Giskard all the time, sitting on his back. She couldn't hear what he said, but she knew he would keep her safe. She talked to him, and he listened. She just knew. Plus, she thought, sometimes it didn't work. Something had happened to her father the first time Giskard tried to speak to him. He said he wasn't able to hear any words, just a very loud noise that gave him a headache. She thought Giskard had hurt him on purpose, and almost succumbed to one of her fits of anger. But it was an accident, of course. Giskard was a  _good_ dog, and would never hurt anyone innocent.

He had even felt bad when he first spoke to Sturges, who hadn't known he was a synth until that moment. The dog spent almost the whole day with his ears down, apologizing in a voice only Sturges could hear.

Even without speaking, Revy could tell what Giskard was feeling. He spoke with his body like a real dog, but would nod or shake his head like a human. When she was sitting on his back, he always seemed to know where she wanted to go. And no matter what, he would always protect her. She just  _knew._

Maybe she didn't need to be a synth after all. It seemed like they understood each other just fine.


	6. Chapter 6

It wasn't long before she had another memory to be angry about. For so long she had only  _heard_ of the man called Maxson, but one day he appeared in front of the Castle.

Her mother was smiling. "Reveille," she said, using Revy's new full name from her Uncle Preston. "This is Elder Maxson."

Knowing nothing but anger toward the man, she threw her knife.

Maxson barely reacted. He looked down at the knife in his chest; of course such a little thing, thrown by a child, had barely punctured his sturdy coat. He removed the knife and dropped it, staring down at Revy with no feeling in his terrible eyes.

Revy felt something, but it wasn't fear. She knew she couldn't afford to be afraid of this man.

He stared at her for a moment, ignoring her mother's apologies. Then he lifted his head to the woman everyone called General and said, "Your daughter has eyes like an animal."

It was Revy's first and last time hearing him speak, for a while. Sometimes she would catch glances of him visiting the Castle, to have meetings with her mother. The air always became so tense despite at least one of them smiling. The Brotherhood and the Minutemen seemed to be on good terms now, is what everyone said. People weren't upset to have the man who almost killed her father standing on their grounds.

But Revy couldn't help but feel her rage bubbling up whenever she saw that man. It certainly didn't help that, whenever Giskard saw him, he growled.

Revy found herself wanting to growl at him, too.


	7. Chapter 7

Her mother had another interesting friend. He didn't live at the Castle, and didn't visit that frequently. Giskard never growled at him, so Revy trusted him even though she didn't know him well.

He dressed oddly. He wore a long, solid black coat, and sunglasses that blocked his eyes. He was tall and spoke a bit oddly. Not like anyone else Revy had ever heard. He also had a strange name - her mother called him  _X6._ His face was very serious, and he never smiled.

When Revy spied on her mother and the strange man, they acted strangely. Usually they would just sit with each other. Normally, General Nuke was very affectionate with her friends. With everyone Revy called "Uncle" or "Aunt", there would usually be laughter, hugs, and wide grins. But with this man, the conversation was quiet and restrained.

Nevertheless, when he finally met her one day, his mouth turned slightly upward in what looked like a smile.

"Is this your daughter?" He asked the General, and crouched down. In a swift motion he removed his sunglasses. "Hello there," He said. "My name is X6-88."

Revy was almost in shock. The man's eyes were completely colorless - a dark, piercing gray. He had an intense face, but for some reason, she couldn't feel afraid or even nervous. She spoke her own name in her tiny voice.

"I don't usually like children," He added bluntly, "But you don't seem so bad, from what I hear. You threw a knife at Maxson?"

Her heart jumped. Was he mad at her? Sheepishly she nodded.

To Revy's surprise - and to the General's - X6 chuckled. He stood back up. "Good," His smile widened. "I think that's great."

Revy straightened up and grinned at the stranger. He looked scary, and talked strange, but he seemed alright.


	8. Chapter 8

There weren't many things that could outrun Giskard. Even Dogmeat would eventually get tired, but Revy's dog could go for what seemed like forever. He didn't need sleep or food, and he was always alert.

Still, sometimes there was danger out in the wasteland. And sometimes they had to run. Revy's arms became strong from clinging to Giskard's neck as he took her quickly away from things like an angry Deathclaw they'd gotten too close to, or the occasional fierce Yao Guai. She wasn't sure which was scarier, but she never really felt frightened. As long as she had Giskard.

As long as they were together, they were safe.


	9. Chapter 9

Revy never grew to like the Prydwen. She liked to sit up on the bastions of the Castle, but seeing that ship always filled her with anger. It was an ugly thing that ruined the view, she thought. Though her mother assured her that some of the people living on it were kind, some were even  _children,_ Revy still hated the sight of the awful, gray thing.

But she never would have wished for something so terrible to happen.

It came through the radio. A stranger's voice started talking, and it took everyone a second to react. It was a short message and, when it ended, there was a brief pause before it began repeating.

The General leaning over the radio, her eyes locked on it. Her expression was grim and very unlike her.

Revy saw her mother, and wanted to run to her. She heard the radio transmission again; she didn't understand all the words, but knew the adults did. And they weren't happy. A horrible fear crawled through her, something she hadn't felt since she first came to the Castle.

The General turned to Preston, who wore her same expression. "Watch Revy," she said.

Before anyone could say another thing, she was gone. The Minutemen's vertibird, given to them by the Brotherhood of Steel some time ago, was in the sky in moments, heading to the airport.

Revy wanted to scream for her mother, to chase after her and beg her not to go. But her legs were like lead. Right as she was about to fall from the weight of her fear, she felt herself swung into the air and held tightly by Preston.

"She'll be back soon," He said, holding the girl tightly. "I know she will."

Revy wondered if he was really talking to her.


	10. Chapter 10

No one was sure how much time passed between the General's vertibird docking on the ship, and the first sign of trouble. It could have been only a few minutes, or something like an hour. For most of the Minutemen, their eyes locked on the sky, it felt like an eternity.

At first, there was a strange rumbling sound. But before anyone could place the source, one of the ship's engines erupted into flames. The explosion shook the ground and rattled Revy's ears.

She screamed and clung to her Uncle, too scared to think straight. She barely felt the hand of her father - wearing his Power Armor for the first time in so long - gently patting her head before he disappeared beyond the Castle's walls.

As the rest of the Minutemen scurried to the bastions, Revy followed them. No one could keep her back.

The Prydwen was on fire. Another explosion cracked through the sky. The massive ship was tilted sickly; Revy suddenly missed its still, imposing appearance. She saw vertibirds scatter from it, a dozen at once, in evacuation. Some were caught in the roaring flames.

The ship was moving. Not just downward; it was traveling away from the airport, toward the water. Toward the Castle. 

People started running, but Revy couldn't move. It wasn't even horror or fear that she felt anymore. It was a numb shock that felt familiar; the same feeling that overtook her when she saw her home settlement burned. Fire was not her favorite thing in the world, but she couldn't take her eyes off the burning ship before her.

The Prydwen hit the water with a roar. If Revy had known the creatures, she would have compared it to a whale crashing down after a breach. The steel frame of the ship twisted and screamed, weakened by fire that tried desperately to escape the water. But in too short a time, most of it was over. The ship lay in the water, a quarter of it still exposed. The great splash caused by the impact had extinguished most of the flames.

But in the blur of madness that was the crash, something stuck in Revy's mind.

"Blue light, the blue light," she said, tugging on the shirts and pant legs of anyone she could find. "I saw a blue light..."

No one had the time to listen to her. The Castle was in chaos; those who had medical training were rushing across the river to aid the wounded at the airport. Of course, with only one working boat, the process was slow-going.

On one return trip, Revy's father appeared, carrying the General.

"I can't walk," she muttered, staring off at nothing. "I can't feel my leg..."

Revy wasn't crying. She was overwhelmed by the situation and felt numb. When her mother was settled into the closest bed, she stayed by her side and listened to her father recount what had happened.

Many dead. More wounded, some very critically. The General had remained on the ship with Elder Maxson as it crashed. She used her power to try to protect them both. In the end, they both survived, but the General's leg...

Revy barely heard her father mention Maxson's broken ribs or his shattered arm. Her eyes were locked on her mother's right leg. The one that always gave her trouble when she used her power. She used it less and less as time had gone on, but now...

"At least the rest of her is alright," Preston said, exhaling sharply. He was grimacing, which wasn't uncommon, but there was a frightening weight in his voice. "What do we do about the leg?"

"You're not gonna cut it off," The General barked. "Unless it gets all infected or tries to kill me, it's staying there."

Revy's heart lightened at the sound of her mother's sharp tongue. She was so used to hearing her use what she called her "General Voice" for diplomacy. If she had an attitude, it meant she was feeling alright.

"The airport's full up with injured," She continued. "They sent me home since I'm not... actively dying, I guess."

"We've sent over everyone we can." Preston took a deep breath. "I hope they don't make us regret it."

"Hurt people are hurt people." The General shrugged. "If Maxson dies, who will I scowl at all day? Right, Danse?"

He smiled in response, probably also glad to see her in good spirits despite herself. "I'll keep everyone updated on the situation. You just stay here and rest."

Revy, still silent, remained by her mother's side when everyone else left. She crawled into the bed, into those welcoming arms, and laid her head down. She had so many frantic thoughts in her mind she couldn't put to rest: Had  _Maxson_ been responsible for her mother's injury? Was he was she couldn't walk? Why had she helped the Brotherhood of Steel, if they'd been so terrible to her father?

Then the words from earlier returned: "Hurt people are hurt people."

Revy didn't understand. Her mother was right, but... there was something nagging at her. The man who called her an animal was still worth saving? The people who wished death upon her father were deserving of help?

She wondered how  _they_ felt, watching the Prydwen go down. Did they feel as frozen as she had? Were they stricken by terrible fear, watching their home go up in flames? Had they lost friends in the explosion?

Slowly, she nodded, coming to terms with it. Yes, she determined for herself, they  _did._ They were all as terrified as she was. They were all scared, and probably some of them cried. Just like she cried when she watched her first parents die.

Revy was very glad, at that moment, that her mother was still alive. She snuggled a little closer to her.


	11. Chapter 11

A lot started to happen at the Castle. The Minutemen who weren't at the airport assisting the Brotherhood had begun construction on a bridge to cross the harbor more easily. It would take a while, they knew, but hoped it could also become a symbol of unity.

Once the aftermath of the Prydwen's crash settled, the General was sent over to be examined by the Brotherhood's remaining medical personnel.

Proctor Ingram was the most gravely injured, but still alive. During the General's time on the Prydwen, the two had been friendly, and the former was distraught at the latter's condition.

"I've been through worse," Ingram said with a smirk, gesturing to her long-missing legs. "I can get through this, too." She had been the closest to the initial explosion to actually walk away from it.

Knight-Captain Cade, the Brotherhood's chief medical officer, was relieved to see another survivor. He called the General "Knight Nuke", as he did so long ago, and was eager to look at her leg.

But Nuke had been accompanied by her husband, who was understandably nervous in Brotherhood territory.

Cade gestured into the tent. "It's been a long time since all that, Danse," He smiled genuinely. "A lot of people never stopped believing in you."

Keeping suspicion in his brown eyes, Danse entered the tent.

"I don't understand it." Cade let out a deep sigh and scratched his chin. "There's nothing broken. No external damage at all, just your old scars. There's no reason why it should be..."

"...Busted?" Nuke finished for him as he trailed off. "I can't feel it at all. Maybe nerve damage?"

"But  _only_ in  _that_ leg... it's bizarre."

Nuke reminded him of another bizarre situation - her  _power,_ as she called it.

Cade repeated his sigh. "Now, explain that to me again?" In his mind, he wanted to believe it. He had seen the blue glow several other Brotherhood soldiers reported, as the Prydwen fell.

She tried her best, as she didn't quite understand it herself. Institute experimentation. The energy itself seemed radioactive, but it never caused damage or left a detectable trace. She called it a strange, blue  _force_ she was able to control, though it quickly sapped her energy and left her leg aching. In worse situations, it went numb for a while.

But this time, it hadn't come back.

The official conclusion was that nothing more could ever really be known about it.

"You could stay for observation," Cade suggested. "We could  _try..._ "

Nuke looked up at her husband, the former Paladin. His brow was furrowed and he was constantly glancing at the door of the tent. She knew she couldn't bear to worry him any more, so they both made the decision to return to the Castle.

Struggling with her cane, she insisted on stopping to see Maxson first.


	12. Chapter 12

Whenever her parents left the Castle together, Revy ran to the arms of her Uncle Preston. 

He held her like she was his own child. To calm and comfort her, he loved to tell her tales of the Minutemen and all they had accomplished. Some stories were from long ago, but many were recent. He told her about the place called Sanctuary on the other side of the Commonwealth, and all the lovely people who had started new lives there. To Revy, it sounded like paradise.

At night, the two would sit up on the bastions of the Castle, looking at the stars. Preston would point at a star, then at a small freckle on Revy's face or shoulder. With his warmest smile, he once told her that she was a lot like a starry sky - even on the darkest nights, her beaming little dotted face gave everyone comfort and hope.

In the vast world that surrounded her, there were not many things Revy understood. But hope, optimism, and love...  _those_ were things her little self could comprehend. All around her lived people who were walking, talking proof of those intangible things.

She knew that for her entire life, she could never forget things like that.

But one thing she would never understand was cruelty. Cruelty for the  _sake_ of it, like from those who destroyed her first home, was beyond what her mind could grasp. It was what made her, a small child, black out in anger and come to with a corpse at her feet. She almost never stopped thinking about Elder Maxson, and how he had almost ended her father's life for something so trivial. To her, it was as simple as the fact that her father had been "born different". She wasn't sure if she would  _ever_ comprehend why it was a big deal.

Despite the efforts of the Minutemen, there would always be cruelty in the world. And sometimes, she knew, she would have to face it herself.


	13. Chapter 13

It was a warm day, not at all an unusual one for Revy to spend a bit far from the Castle. She was with Giskard, of course, atop his back and holding tightly to his metal frame despite the lack of visible danger. 

Giskard himself was always on guard and alert. His red eyes scanned the immediate area, able to detect things no human ever could. However much there was to take in around him, his priority would always be the safety of the girl he watched over.

There was a sound. Someplace far away, too far for Revy's ears, something stirred. 

Not wanting to startle his ward, Giskard kept walking. The sound rattled in his mechanical head as he tried to analyze it.

Nevertheless, Revy felt a sudden chill. The dog's gait had changed in a very subtle way, and his head moved more than before. The girl wished, for the hundreth time, that he could speak to her. She wanted to hear that everything was fine.

Something flew past her at a blinding speed. The sound came so long after, it almost seemed like the two weren't connected.

Giskard automatically took off running, searching for any cover. He knew it was a bullet, and hoped Revy understood the danger they were very suddenly in. He scanned the area but found only a thin fallen tree nearby. Leaping over it, he jerked himself sideways to dislodge Revy.

She hit the ground hard and rolled, but knew what her guardian was doing. As much as she could, she concealed herself with the tree.

Giskard landed and whirled around, his mechanical body humming with rage. He meant to face their attacker, but found nothing in his field of vision. The only sounds were of gently rustling dead leaves.

Another sharp sound broke the silence.

Giskard flinched as the bullet struck him in the left shoulder. It didn't penetrate his Power Armor hide, but it sent his systems into overdrive. They were under attack by something that was not an ordinary enemy; Raiders never used this type of advanced stealth. Thinking quickly, Giskard deduced that the gun was for long range, and was silenced. Though a silenced gun could still be heard, the direction from which it came was difficult to determine.

Revy knew Giskard had been hit, but she stifled her cries. She was suddenly terrified, a vulnerable little girl wishing so desperately that her parents were with her. She kept one hand over her mouth and the other over her pounding heart as if to slow it.

Giskard couldn't detect a single enemy, until so suddenly, he could. 

The creature stood over him, ten feet of terror, its massive claws hands dangling in front of it. It looked calm until its eyes moved downward and focused on Giskard.

He leapt back and growled as a warning, his body humming with panic. It was a Deathclaw, and it had appeared so suddenly. The size of the creature meant there was no way it could have snuck up on them silently. He tried to work out how it could have surprised him, the possibilities racing through his mind in the form of mathematical equations.

The monster swiped at him and missed. Deathclaws were fast and deadly, but Giskard had fought many, and had become faster and deadlier.

The stabilizers in Giskard's legs worked overtime as he darted around the creature, the air now filled with the sound of metal pounding on pavement.

Turning its massive head toward the fallen tree, the Deathclaw sniffed the air.

Red eyes blazing, Giskard charged and grabbed hold of the large tail with his powerful jaws. Ignoring the Deathclaw's roar of pain, he bit down harder and harder. His jaw hissed with hydraulic force as, finally, metal hit metal, and the majority of the tail fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The Deathclaw whirled around, hurt but not slowed. Its great arm came down and swept across Giskard's body, scarring the bloodied metal. In an instant its other arm followed up, raking the top of the dog's back. His armor peeled under the creature's claws. A third swipe came too quickly and struck his head, tearing his right ear from its metal roots.

Giskard faltered but kept his balance. His red gaze locked on the enemy, he prepared for another lunge, but had to calculate for the now slick ground.

A shot.

Giskard flinched, but felt nothing. When he looked up he saw the Deathclaw had frozen, its head to the sky, a fresh river of blood streaming from it. He barely had time to register the sight before he felt the second shot.

This time, it hit its target. The bullet pierced the exposed part of Giskard's skull, where his ear had once been. Immediately his glowing red eyes went black, and his body fell to the ground.


	14. Chapter 14

Even in her father's strong arms, Revy was inconsolable. She was shrieking, crying, and gasping for breath, frantically reaching for the body of her friend. She screamed his name over and over as her father did his best to keep her face against his chest.

The General was crouched over Giskard, her hand running across his damaged shell. "The Deathclaw for sure did all this," she said, jaw clenched. "But it's not what knocked him out. His central processing is in his head, but his ear's not connected to any of it."

"Knocked out?" Danse had taken to gently rocking his daughter, desperately trying to quiet her. "He's not...?" He flinched and stayed quiet, himself. Revy had only just started to calm down.

Nuke peered into the gaping hole in the dog's head. "I can see his memory unit, and it doesn't look damaged. A few wires were severed, but I think he can be repaired."

"Thank  _God."_ Danse sighed and his shoulders fell. Though he would never be a fan of intelligent robots, he also would never disregard the importance this one held to his family. "Can  _you_ fix him?"

She shook her head. "No. I didn't even build him, really. All of his technology came from the Island."

Revy, wiping her eyes on her father's already soaked shirt, perked up when she heard that last word. The Island was the place her mother had disappeared to for over a month, with her uncle Nick. It was where Giskard had come from.

"How do you plan on getting him back there?"

Nuke stood, aided by her cane. "I'm sure the Nakanos won't mind us borrowing their boat again."

"Well, yes, but..." Danse gestured to both the General and the dog. "It's not like you can just pick him up."

Smiling up at her husband, Nuke looked him up and down. "That's what Power Armor is for."

"Oh," Danse said, a slight grimace forming on his face.  _I'm going too,_ he thought unpleasantly. But he pushed it aside and forced a smile. Of course he would. For his family, he would go anywhere. Even an island of Synths.


	15. Chapter 15

Moving Giskard was difficult, even  _with_ Power Armor. A sort of sled had to be fashioned for him that could be pulled all the way to the Nakano residence; they'd already been radioed, and of course agreed to lend their boat to the "detective" who had saved their daughter.

But the General was quite surprised when she saw the ship appearing on the horizon. After hearing the whole story, Kasumi herself had brought it to them.

"I've gone back to the Island a few times since then," She told Nuke, though she withheld a smile due to the circumstances. "I can get there by memory now. You've got other things to focus on."

Fixing their loyal protector was the priority, but Nuke had something else on her mind as she watched him get loaded onto the boat. She hadn't said it in front of Revy, but it was obvious that he'd been shot.

Of course, discussion on the matter would have to wait, as Revy had also demanded passage to the Island.

The trip was long, but the devastated little girl weathered it quietly. She sat by Giskard's head, petting the intact parts of it. Sometimes she would whisper something to him, but her words were drowned out by the raging sea.

Danse, still in his suit, gazed back toward the Castle anxiously. He wasn't the biggest fan of open water. But when he glanced to his side and saw the startlingly serious expression on his wife's face, he forgot all about his own fears. Feeling awkward, as if it were the early days of their relationship on the Prydwen, he tapped her shoulder with his armored hand.

She didn't lift her gaze from the floor of the boat, but she let her head rest against him softly.


	16. Chapter 16

The Island hadn't changed much. Most of the fog was kept at bay by the new condensers, but it still clung to the edge of the land.

The people of Far Harbor were happy to have return visitors. They greeted Nuke and her family warmly, and pointed out the new cleared path to Acadia. Of course, they assumed after seeing the sad state of Giskard, she was there to visit her friends on the mountain.

Revy clung to her father. It was easy for her to be carried while he also pulled the poor dog behind him. She looked around at the strange new place; it looked nothing like her Commonwealth. The chilly air prickled her skin, and the dew hung in her hair.

But despite the unfamiliar surroundings, she felt at ease. Almost too much so. She was watching her mother make her way slowly up the mountain, sometimes struggling. Her father's strong hand was always there to support her, but Revy herself was helpless. Still, she couldn't despair. Something about the place relaxed her mind. Feeling confident, she shuffled her hair to uncover her left eye.

She didn't much like doing that. When that eye was covered, or even mostly covered, the world was much more at peace. Being a child, she couldn't quite find the words to explain it all, but she knew something was different when she saw everything with both eyes.

It took only a moment for her to see something very different, and it made her gasp.

Her mother stopped and turned back. "Revy? You okay?"

Revy's tiny hand was pointing to a place off the path. "I haven't seen one like that before," was all she could say. How else could she describe it? With that eye revealed, she was used to seeing strange figures everywhere; figures without true form, moving through the world with no clear direction. They never responded when she called out to them.

But this one was different. It was in the shape of an animal she had never seen before - a very large cat. Perched atop an outcropping, it was watching them with blank, white eyes.

This was one that Nuke could see, too. At the sight of it, she smiled. "You see it too, Revy? I met it when I first visited here."

Revy was in awe. Her mother could see these things, too?! She asked the question, implying there were more, but the General furrowed her brow.

"It's the only one I've ever seen," she admitted.

Immediately, Revy tucked her arm back under her chest and went silent.


	17. Chapter 17

The observatory had undergone some repairs since Nuke's last visit. The roof was completely patched, but with more windows installed. Natural light poured into the room, illuminating the sprawling machinery with a soft glow.

Revy's feet hit the floor, but she stayed half hidden behind her father. Her mother had told her who they were about to meet: friends of hers, and they were all the way her dad was. Synths. But one of them was a bit different - more like her Uncle Nick, she said - so she asked Revy to try not to be startled.

It was hard not to be. He stood tall, his body nearly a skeleton of metal and wires. The glass ornaments sprouting from his back reminded Revy of a Deathclaw's spines, at first. She shrunk back when he approached her, but when he crouched down, he suddenly looked much friendlier.

"You must be little Revy," He spoke in a voice so soft that all the anxiety in the room melted away. His eyes were a cloudy blue and without focus. "I've heard much about you. My name is DiMA."

"Uncle Nick's brother," She said, recognizing the name. A smile spread across her face and she hesitantly reached out her hand. "Hi. My mom likes you." She stared down as DiMA put his hand in hers, his fingers nothing more than metal bones. But his touch was gentle, and she was unable to feel uncomfortable around him, much less afraid.

He smiled, then stood back to his full, impressive height to meet eyes with Danse, who couldn't help but recoil. "Apologies," He said in the same soft tone, "for my appearance. I was told you would react most negatively."

Danse grimaced, but shrugged. "I've heard enough good things about you. I should be able to get over it."

Lightly, DiMA chuckled. "You've been through very much, Danse. I don't at all mind accommodating your adjustment period, no matter how long it takes."

Almost annoyed by the level of understanding, Danse nodded.

"But to the matter at hand." From the corner scampered Faraday, concern on his face. "Both of you look badly injured."

Nuke looked down at her cane. "Don't worry about this. It's just how things are now."

Faraday's blue eyes focused on Giskard. "Deathclaw?"

"It had help." Nuke scowled. "Lemme show you."

Revy watched as her mother and Faraday crouched over Giskard's inert body. It tore at her heart that she was, again, helpless.

"Little one," DiMA called from the center of the room. He was settling into his specialized chair. "Why don't you come over here?"  
She finally looked away, over at DiMA, then glanced back at her father's suspicious expression. Taking his silence as permission, she carefully stepped toward the old synth.

Danse almost followed her, but he felt a gaze so powerful it held him in place. When he turned to face it, he saw a woman in a long, black coat leaning against the wall behind him. He instantly recognized it as the uniform given to Institute Coursers. Running through the stories Nuke had told him, he finally said, "You must be Chase."

She nodded, then gestured for him to follow her.

He didn't want to. Despite everything, he felt uncomfortable in a place like Acadia. Sure, he had been forced to accept himself as a synth, but it was still a secret to many. Even some Minutemen. Here, everyone was open about their identities.

But, he thought, they had all gone through at least something similar to him.

His feet like lead, he followed Chase out of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Chase asked Danse all sorts of questions. The former Paladin didn't exactly enjoy being grilled, but something about Chase's demeanor almost forced him to answer.

She pointed out their similarities here and there, almost to break the ice. Since everyone in Acadia had retained their memories, she relayed stories of her time in the Institute. The way she told them, it was like she had to recite them on the daily.

"I brought back a good deal of escapees," She recalled. "I was a prized tool, to them. High ranking, if you could even consider it that. The other Coursers respected me, and the work I did." She flashed to a look to Danse, who tried his best not to flinch. Her gaze was sharp and powerful. "You were a Paladin, Nuke tells me. That's pretty serious."

He nodded, trying to pay more attention to his surroundings than to his companion. "It was like my world came crashing down when everything came to light. It's been almost two and a half years, and I can still barely believe it happened."

Chase's expression didn't change, but it was obvious she understood. "DiMA convinced me to stay with his words alone. Me, a Courser, convinced by an old, escaped prototype synth, to give up everything I believed I was living for."

Danse thought of his time at Listening Post Bravo. He was at his worst, his weakest, and in walked Nuke, somehow able to convince him to live for something other than the Brotherhood. Before that moment, he would have never thought it possible. From what she had told him of DiMA, the two sounded similar in a way. He barely realized he had said anything out loud before Chase responded.

"She has a Courser friend, doesn't she?"

Still unhappy about the situation, Danse confirmed it. "I don't trust him, but I'm trying. For her."

"You shouldn't." Chase stopped, her face icy. "They've probably tightened things up since they lost me. Don't let her get manipulated by him."

Danse felt defiance bubbling up in him, and the surprise almost knocked him off his feet. He was almost glaring at Chase, wanting to defend  _X6-88,_ of all people. But he shook it off and tried to think rationally. She wasn't wrong, but she also didn't know the whole story.

"Does he know about  _you?"_ She asked sharply.

"No," He said, knowing it was the truth. ...Or was it? Had Nuke told him? He felt a sudden slight bit of panic, wondering if she'd told him. But no, no, he told himself. She would never. She had her hangups with her attachment to him, but she wasn't an  _idiot._ And he trusted her, absolutely. She always came clean about her past screw-ups, and he was getting better at it, too.

"I heard some of radio transmissions with DiMA before you all came here," Chase admitted. "She doesn't think what happened to Giskard was a random attack, but I guess we'll have to wait until he wakes up to get some details."

"Revy was there." Danse stopped in his tracks. "I wonder what she saw."

"She's only a child-"

He whipped his head around and  _really_ glared at her this time. "She's  _my_ daughter. Nuke's daughter. She's a hell of a lot more than that."

Chase deferred, bowing her head slightly in apology. "Alright. Should we go ask her, then?"


	19. Chapter 19

Revy was surprised that she found a comfortable position in DiMA's lap. For over an hour she had been curled up, head on his chest, listening to his gentle voice as he told her story after story of his life, and Acadia. He told her all about his relationship with her Uncle Nick, their escape, and everything up until that current moment.

She listened to it all, and asked him nicely not to hide any details. She was a kid, sure, but she was also a Wastelander. Both of her parents had made mistakes and killed people, too; that alone wasn't enough to mark someone as bad, in her eyes.

And when Revy's little face turned to look over at her mother and Faraday, to where her friend Giskard was laying, DiMA's hand would gently turn her back and, smiling, ask if she'd like to hear another story.

Faraday was focused on the repairs, but he couldn't help the occasional glance to Nuke's leg. It looked normal only when she didn't have to use it. He'd been told a brief version of what happened; of course it would have been impossible for him to have _not_ heard about the Prydwen's crash.

"It wasn't just the Deathclaw," Nuke said for about the fifth time, more to herself at that point than to Faraday. She was staring at the hole in Giskard's head like something was amiss. It was obvious that a shot to his neural center had knocked him out, but he was only _very_ unconscious; the majority of his systems were entirely intact.

Finally, there was something. Faraday was holding a component in his hand that he didn't recognize.

"Is that a bullet?"

He couldn't answer her. It looked like one, but it was unlike any bullet he had ever seen. Handing it to her, he quietly asked if it could be Institute tech. "Who else could have something like this?"

It made her blood run cold when she held it. It looked like a large sniper bullet, elongated and pointed at the tip, but it was... _advanced_ was the only word she could come up with. It looked like it had _circuitry,_ and it hadn't been at all damaged by the impact. It also looked powerful, but hadn't pierced the other side of Giskard's head. There wasn't even a dent on the inside of his armor. It was like it had simply _settled_ inside.

Feeling rage creeping up, she clenched her hand over it. "I wouldn't be surprised that they'd put a hit out on my fucking _dog."_

Faraday hesitated, but couldn't keep the thought down. "...You think they were after _him?"_

Nuke glanced behind, at DiMA's chair. His quiet hum of a voice couldn't be understood from the distance. "...If not, what the hell could they want with my kid?"

"Unfortunately, you know the Institute about as well as any of us do."

All of a sudden, Nuke felt like a fool. Her relationship with the Institute had waned considerably in the recent months; her visits were infrequent, and there was a colder air about the place whenever she _did_ go. X6 knew she had been helping synths escape, but hadn't told anyone else as far as she knew.

But if _he_ had figured it out, who else could have?

She shook her head, trying to dislodge the ridiculous thought that the Institute would go after her family. But her body went cold again as she wondered... What if she hadn't gotten to Revy so quickly? There was a patrol in the area, and they'd heard the commotion - just too late to save Giskard, but fast enough to see him fall. They got to Revy before anything could have happened to her.

"Okay," She started, trying to convince herself. "But the Institute doesn't have sniper death squads."

"They have Coursers."

"Yeah, they get laser rifles, not whatever _this_ is." She looked at the bullet again, still having an odd feeling about it. "Could we take a closer look at it?"

Faraday was already up and heading to his lab.


	20. Chapter 20

Nuke let Faraday handle the analysis of the "bullet". Her mind felt scattered elsewhere, suddenly back at the airport after the Prydwen fell. Her memories of it were a little hazy due to a blow or two to the head, but she tried to think.

She had run to the front of the ship to find Maxson, who had refused to abandon it before everyone else got off. She remembered grabbing his arm, calling him an idiot, begging him to drop the decorum bullshit to save his own life.

But he wouldn't. He looked in her eyes and told her that he would never let go of that last bit of pride, and he would go down with the ship.

In the minutes they had, they tried to steer the ship into the water. She would never forget the sight of the harbor coming up to her so quickly, knowing the ship would be no protection.

Though she didn't remember activating her power on purpose, there was a blue glow around both of them at the moment of impact. Thinking back, she's sure that's what saved them. After all, it had an effect on her leg.

But that wasn't what she was trying to figure out. Who had blown up the Prydwen in the first place? Quietly, she let Faraday know of her suspicions. But all she could tell him was that she _had_ suspicions.

"You said there was a radio transmission," He said, peering at the bullet through a microscope. "Who made it?"

"I didn't know at the time. The signal was warped." _Almost deliberately,_ her thoughts continued. _Who could have known the Prydwen would go down?_

"I hate to sound accusatory, but did you ask... the Railroad?"

She nodded, though he wasn't looking at her. "Of course. I went to them as soon as I could walk. Des said she had nothing to do with it, and that they'd never pull shit like that without telling me."

"Hmm." Faraday finally looked up and stepped back. "I don't know what to make of this thing. It's definitely a bullet, but the technology inside it is a mystery. You want to look?"

She shrugged and walked up to the microscope. Looking inside the tiny lens, she saw a mess of metal and circuit traces. She moved the adjustment wheels and shifted the slide back and forth.

Then, she saw something. A small piece on the bullet that looked different from everything else. A tiny, black square.

The sight of it made her jump backwards from the microscope. "Destroy this thing. _Now._ I don't care how. Fucking incinerate it."

Panicked, Faraday grabbed the bullet from the slide. "O-okay! I'll do it. Fine."

In a minute he was back, still obviously shaken. "What is it? Do you know?"

The truth was that she didn't, but she had a terrible hunch. "I won't lie. I'm not sure, but I need you to keep security as high as possible around here. I'll tell everyone at Far Harbor not to let anyone in. Hell, I'll even go to the Children if you want me to."

If it were possible, Faraday became even paler. "...I'm guessing you think it's a tracking device."

Nuke couldn't say anything, so she let her eyes speak for her. "I should stay here."

"What, indefinitely?" He straightened his shoulders. "No, once we fix Giskard, you should get out of here."

"And just leave you all vulnerable?"

"We don't know if it _is_ what you think it is. And we have defenses. Much better than when you were last here, I promise."

"I don't _not_ believe you, but I can't let anything happen to any of you."

"I understand, I get it." Faraday could tell that Nuke was beginning to panic, even if _she_ couldn't. "But you need to relax. We'll have Chase do recon. We'll keep a sharp eye out, okay? It'll be fine."

She couldn't believe it, but tried to force herself to. "You'll tell DiMA, and everyone? I don't want to say anything in front of Danse or Revy."

"Yes, I'll tell them. Why don't you go sit? You look like you're about to collapse."

Her mind was racing and she felt dizzy. She stared at the floor. Thinking about the possibility of Acadia being attacked... It was too much. No, it _wouldn't_ happen, she told herself. And if it did, they'd be prepared.

"Remember," Faraday put his hand on Nuke's back as he led her to a chair. "We don't even know who made it. Let me focus on fixing Giskard, okay? I'll see if Chase and Danse are back."

She sat down and put her head between her knees, barely hearing him but nodding anyways. "Sure," she mumbled, unable to get any kind of grip on her thoughts. The voice on the radio. She swore she'd heard that tone somewhere before. But where? It hadn't been Father, or anyone she could think of who would want harm to come to the Brotherhood. Certainly not X6.

But she _had_ heard it before. That was the only thing she knew for certain at that moment.


	21. Chapter 21

"The General isn't here at the moment." Preston tried to puff up his chest and stand taller when faced with Brotherhood soldiers, and he hoped his nervousness didn't show. "I can take a message for you."

It was the same battalion Maxson always sent for correspondence. Or rather, what was left of them. Their leader had previously noted that two of them had perished in the crash.

"No, I only speak with the General." The only one wearing power armor, but with no helmet, Star Paladin Faust led the troop. Standing just a bit taller than Maxson, He obtained his high rank some time after Danse's exile, and took great pride in his assigned job despite his occasional negative comments. He sneered at Preston. "Where'd she run off to? She take the traitor and her dog with her, too?"

Narrowing his eyes, Preston tried not to let it get to him. "That's not really any of your business. I told you I'd take a message for her."

"Such a shame," Faust looked past him to the interior of the Castle. "that a fort like this can't be shared with the Brotherhood, after we've lost so much."

"How much do you expect the General to give you?" Preston couldn't help himself, and almost smiled at his snarkiness. "She's helped you quite enough. Why are you here?"

"Well, Elder Maxson is almost fully recovered." There was obvious relief in his voice, and his stern expression faded. "He wanted to meet with your General to discuss what happened in detail. I'm sure we can all agree that the circumstances of the Prydwen's demise were... suspicious, at best."

Cautiously, Preston nodded. "Alright, I'll let her know."

"What do  _you_ think of it all, Colonel Garvey?"

"Not my place to say right now." Of course, discussions had been had at the Castle long before Faust's visit. General Nuke had warned everyone to be very, very careful. "I'm glad to hear the Elder is doing better, as well." Still guarded, he attempted a genuine smile.

Luckily, the Star Paladin seemed to relax and was genuinely thankful for the comment. "He truly is our greatest Elder. And though I may not enjoy admitting it, he is only alive because of your General."   
Again Preston nodded, but he said nothing.

"Give her my  _personal_ thanks." He turned and began his long walk back to one of the Brotherhood's remaining Vertibirds.

"Oh, I don't like  _that_ one at all." The voice of Sturges came as a huge relief to Preston, who could finally relax. "But if I'm bein' honest, I don't like any of 'em."

Exhausted from the short exchange, Preston shut the doors to the Castle and removed his hat. "He only came here because we've ignored their last three radio calls."

"Good riddance." Sturges rolled his eyes, arms crossed. "You'd think their ship blowin' up woulda made them act nicer, but no. They're even worse." Noticing the beads of sweat on Preston's forehead, Sturges threw his arm around the other man's shoulders. "Alright, Colonel. You look like you need a break."

Unable to say anything, Preston leaned his head against the strong, comforting shoulder, but kept his eyes focused on the ground.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.


	22. Chapter 22

Revy liked the Island. It had been a few days since they had arrived, and to distract herself from the reason they'd come, she took walks with Chase.

The former Courser wasn't the best with children, but she found Revy surprisingly easy to get along with. Having a synth for a father had taken away one of Chase's usual conversation stressors. But the little girl's messy hair drove her crazy, and she kept trying to fix it.

Eventually, Revy relented, mumbling that there "weren't a lot" on the Island. When her escort asked what she meant, she got much quieter.

"It's alright, Revy. What is it? You can tell me."

"Mom looked at me weird when I said it." She was staring at the rocky ground as they traversed the edge of a wood. "I see lots of them back home. So I cover my eye and they go away."

"What do you see?"

Revy looked up, and pointed. "Like that."

When Chase followed the path with her eyes, she saw nothing, and said so.

"That guy talked to you before."

"Guy?" Chase felt a sudden chill. "You see someone there?"

"He said it's not your fault they got him."

Shaking her head, she asked who Revy was talking to.

"Derrick?" She said in a tiny voice after a moment, like she'd been listening to someone. "You talked to him and helped him escape. But they got him before he found you."

Not usually one to be rattled, Chase found herself more confused than anything. "...So you're talking to ghosts?"

"They just look like people. But the cat looks different."

_The cat._ Somehow she knew Revy meant the mountain lion.

"I like this place," Revy said, looking up with a smile. "But the cat is loud at night. I wish she'd be quiet."

Unsure of what else to say, Chase decided it was time to return to the observatory.


	23. Chapter 23

The room smelled familiar. It took a few seconds, a moment of clicking and whirring in his tired head, for him to realize...

_Acadia._

He sprang to his feet and nearly fell. His vision focused on the machinery around him. Feeling heavy and disoriented, he scanned the room until his eyes fell on someone familiar.

Faraday!

His tail wagged and he barked.  _Glad to see you! Glad to see you!_ , he told him.

"Easy, Giskard," Faraday urged. "You were badly hurt, so give your systems a few minutes to come fully back online."

He  _did_ feel a little different. But he didn't care, especially not when he saw Nuke standing on the other side of him. Nuke! Forgetting for a moment that she couldn't hear him, he gave her the same greeting he'd given Faraday.

Nuke smiled, though her chest was a little heavy. He looked completely normal at a first glance, and you couldn't tell where he was patched up unless you really paid attention. Even his replacement ear looked like it had always belonged there.

_Danse? Revy?_ , Giskard asked Faraday, looking around. He knew they had to be nearby.

"In the main room," He replied.

Giskard went to take a step, but stopped. Very suddenly his memories came rushing back. His ears flattened against his head and he growled.  _Deathclaw,_ he said.  _Bullets. Revy?_ He looked to Nuke.

"He wants to know if Revy is safe," Faraday translated. "Of course, she is. She's with DiMA in the other room."

As if they no longer existed, Giskard paid the two no more notice and ran to find his ward.

He skidded into the room and called to her, even though she couldn't hear him. For effect, he barked.

Revy almost couldn't believe it. She wanted to scramble from DiMA's lap, but found herself lifted carefully, and set down onto the floor.

DiMA watched with a gentle smile as the two reunited. Though Giskard had been created primarily as a means of defense, he was delighted to see that the dog had truly gained a life of his own. To see such a small child comforted by the sight of something that would be off-putting to most adults... It gave him hope.

Danse was off to the side with Chase. The latter received another very carefully directed greeting; the former had already explained the "issue" with his communication in particular.

Giskard wondered how he had been repaired. He examined himself and saw new plating on his sides, and asked both DiMA and Chase where the materials had come from.

But when he saw Chase gesture silently to Danse, the dog's ears went down.

"He used his power armor," DiMA confirmed verbally.

Lowering his head further, Giskard turned to DiMA and transmitted sorrowfully:  _Sorry. Trouble. Gift._

DiMA understood; he knew Danse's connection to his power armor, after he had lost so much. He paraphrased Giskard's message.

Danse, of course, waved it away. "I'll get over it. It was... more important to repair him." Arms crossed, he huffed. "It was a choice between my power armor or my daughter's happiness."

Though Revy understood the gravity of her father's sacrifice, she was too elated to get emotional about it for a second time. She had already shed plenty of tears.


	24. Chapter 24

The air was thick in the harbor. None of them truly wanted to leave after what had possibly been discovered, but they had been on the Island for nearly a week without hearing anything. At DiMA's urging, Nuke and her family finally decided to head home.

Nuke kept her head over the side of the boat. The sea was calm, but the waters were dark. Behind her, Revy was cheerfully telling stories to Giskard while Danse kept watch over them both. Kasumi had kept her distance for their stay due to the tense atmosphere, but she was also happy to be on her way home.

But the General was troubled. She did her best to hide it, but it was beginning to creep up through her demeanor. She hoped, at least, she could keep it up until they got back to the castle.

Preston's brown eyes, full of more worry than usual, only seemed to make things worse. When he saw the General's expression, he held her tightly and whispered that they needed to talk.

"Yeah," Nuke sighed, weakly grabbing his coat. "We do."

Defenses were fortified. Everyone was kept on higher alert. Preston did everything he could to try to ease the General's worries, but none of it seemed to be working. He even took on more responsibilities so she could spend more time with her family, but it only seemed to amplify her anxiety.

Danse even approached him one day for help.

Startled by the suggestion, Preston stepped back with his hands defensively raised.

"Don't overreact," Danse rolled his eyes. "You can't act like what's between the two of you is over."

If he was being honest, Preston had almost forgotten about it. Nuke had approached him some time ago, holding his hand and staring too intently into his eyes, with too wide a smile. And she had dragged him to Danse to prove that, yes, he was okay with the situation.

It was all so damn  _weird,_ he thought. Even Sturges had simply shrugged his shoulders, saying the world always needed more love. "And if it makes you smile more," he added, "I'll never say no."

In the present, Danse was stern about his request. "I need you to spend more time wiht her," he nearly ordered. "She still has such an instinct to protect me, and to be keeping an eye on Revy. I need her to be with someone else for a change, so she can try to relax."

"Maybe we should call Piper-" He sputtered, realizing how silly it sounded. Though Piper was another of  _those_ situations, she was always so busy, and Diamond City was a bit of a haul. She visited when she could, but...

Danse shook his head. "You're here now, and I'd appreciate your help."

What else could he do?

It wasn't like he didn't enjoy spending time with Nuke. She was usually so bright and optimistic, but serious about her duties. Of course he had his concerns about the company she kept, sometimes - namely that Institute Courser.

She had this  _way_ about her. Even the Courser had started to smile more, and he acted genuinely more  _human_ lately than Preston had ever seen him. Sometimes, he would seem more casual than  _Danse._ Nuke just had that affect on people, he guessed. Making them feel comfortable, and relaxed... and possibly rethinking their born-and-sworn allegiances to questionable organizations.

But she was a very different Nuke as he sat next to her on a bench that evening, high up on the Castle's bastions. Her head was down, and her voice was heavy with worry.

"You think something will happen," He sighed, sliding his arm around her shoulders.

"Something  _else,"_ She clarified. Enough had happened already. Everyone had barely begun to recover from the Prydwen event, and suddenly there were new tensions. With a groan she rubbed her temples. "This can't all be random shit. The Prydwen, Giskard... Fuck, Preston, we were  _radioed_ before the ship went down. They  _wanted_ us to know."

He had already told her about the visits from the Brotherhood, and their own concerns about it. Of course, he hadn't mentioned the Giskard situation. But just the ship's crash was serious enough. "...So it wasn't the Railroad."

"No. Des wouldn't fucking lie to me."

"Relax, I'm just going over it all."

"Right. Sorry."

"And it wasn't, uh, Acadia somehow?"

"They were as horrified by it as I was. And they probably hate the Brotherhood more than me, too." She chuckled. "Most of them, anyway. I don't think DiMA hates  _anybody."_

"He sounds pretty neat. I'd like to meet him sometime."

Nuke tensed again. "We need to stop talking about it."

"What, you think someone's eavesdropping?"

"I don't trust  _anyone_ outside these walls anymore." She looked up, her eyes intense. "And maybe some people  _in_ it."

Preston recoiled, which had an immediate effect. He felt bad exaggerating his response; he knew she didn't mean  _him_ , but he needed her to relax.

Her eyes went soft and she apologized nearly a dozen times before continuing. "I mean, that's why we're running such a tight ship now. No one in or out without me knowing."

"I thought you didn't have many enemies anymore."

Nuke thought about it. She had deluded herself into thinking that, too. But the more she thought about it, the more she wondered who she could really trust. Even the Railroad was iffy at times, despite how much they had helped each other. After all, she had immediately suspected them of bombing the Prydwen. In hindsight it was foolish, but maybe not completely ridiculous.

"Anyways, Danse gave me a mission." Preston sat up straight and put both his hands in his lap. "I need to watch over you a little closer and make sure you're not stressed."

Nuke stared at him, the dark circles under her eyes highlighted by the evening sun. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Well, I'm gonna try." His smile almost eclipsed the sunset. "It's the least I can do, since you basically did the same for me."

She blinked slowly. "I guess."

"I won't let you forget that you saved my life, you know!" He was happy now, almost elated. It had been a while since he'd felt like that -  _energized_ was the word. "You remember that? In Concord?"

"Well, yeah-"

"And since then you never let me falter too hard. Okay? I'm gonna do the same for you."

His sudden brightness was infectious, and Nuke couldn't help but feel a bit better.

"You gotta let everyone help you at least half as much as you've helped them." His voice went lower as he said it; he hadn't meant to get so serious, but at that point, he  _had_ to. She wouldn't listen otherwise.

Finally, Nuke sighed. "Alright, alright. I yield. Watch over me, then."

He shot to his feet, grabbing her hands and bringing her up with him. "Then come on! I'll show you what I've been working on."

Letting herself get pulled behind him, she smiled. "Is it more maps?"

"It's more maps." He looked back with a grin. "But I promise you'll like them!"

She rolled her eyes and laughed at him, but she knew she would.

If it made Preston smile like that, how could she say no?


	25. Chapter 25

Giskard was quite happy to be home. Per his orders, he remained inside the walls of the Castle, watching over Revy. He was surprised to see that a favored companion of his had returned for a visit, as well.

_Detective,_ he greeted, tail wagging.

Valentine was sitting casually at one of the picnic tables. After hearing of the recent troubles, he had made the decision to stay at the Castle. He smiled at the sight of the repaired Giskard. "Hey, pup," he chuckled, patting the dog's head.

_Can you find?_ Giskard asked.  _Attacker._

Nick's brow furrowed as much as it could. "I'd like to, bud. I really would. Someone's got it out for you, for sure, but I don't have many leads to go on."

_I remember. Scent, Deathclaw._

"Yeah?"

Giskard looked down, his red eyes focusing as he tried to recall. The Deathclaw... he hadn't detected it, before it was very suddenly there. As if it  _appeared._ He tried to articulate this to Nick with his limited language.

"Appeared?" He asked, sitting forward. "I assume your systems aren't out of whack and you can tell when a giant radioactive monster is nearby."

_Can smell,_ Giskard said.  _That one... different._

"Like it  _smelled_ different? What was it like?"

He tried to process it. His mind remembered what the scent was like, but it had long been transcribed into code and numbers. Algorithms ran as he stared at the ground, comparing the code to everything else he had logged.

When it got a hit, his head snapped up.

"Uhoh. Got something?"

With a low whine, Giskard turned his gaze off to one of the corners of the Castle's yard. There weren't many visitors allowed in recent times, but friends of the General were usually permitted.

When Nick followed the dog's line of sight, he saw that he was staring right at X6-88. He tensed.

_Same smell,_ Giskard said, his voice not audible but still somehow lowered.  _When he appears._


	26. Chapter 26

She hated to admit it, but the General was nervous about even her old friend X6 being in the Castle.

Luckily he understood, insisting he had only come to deliver her a gift.

"Any tracking shit in this?" She asked as she fumbled with the device. She knew Coursers could be tracked, so it wasn't a very strange question.

X6 chuckled in his brief way. "No. It's just a brace. Here," He crouched down to help her put it on.

It was, specifically, for her leg. The "bad" one, she called it. It looked almost like a white wire cage, fitting snugly over her jeans. Surprisingly, it wasn't uncomfortable.

"Go ahead," He urged, straightening. "Stand up. See if it works."

She stood, still holding onto the bench for support. Anxiety struck her as it always did when she got up without her cane in hand, and she shot it a look.

"You don't need it. Take a step."

Expecting to fall but knowing X6 would catch her, Nuke took one step with her right leg. The brace  _looked_ low-tech, but it was obviously some kind of Institute near-magic that allowed her to stay upright. "...It works."

"Of course it works." He said it to be snide, but he couldn't hide the genuine smile on his face.

"So how'd you get this thing?" Nuke took more careful steps and began walking circles around her companion. "You make it?"

"No, not me." He turned in place to watch her. "I asked some of our engineers if they could."

"And they just... did it? Just made this thing when you asked?"   
"Yes."

"That's weird." But she didn't want to question it further. She was honestly  _elated_ to be able to walk with a free hand. "Man, X6..." Finally she stopped about a foot from him. "I really appreciate this."

He took a deep breath, then sighed. "Well, the Institute is indirectly responsible for the use of your leg being hindered. So I suppose it's like an apology, in a way."

She wanted to scoff at it. An apology. Surely someone like Father wouldn't have come up with this on his own; he didn't care what happened to her anymore, and she couldn't really name any others in the Institute who would be happy to see her.

Except...

She met X6's eyes, unblocked by his usual sunglasses. "I appreciate you going against orders for me."

He flinched. "It's not  _that_ serious."

Not convinced, she raised an eyebrow. "Sure it isn't. You know about my involvement with the Railroad and you've still gone and gotten me something to help me walk."

"I mean..." He avoided her gaze. "You never directly admitted to me until now."

"So what'll you do about it?"

"Nothing." His answer was immediate, and he looked back up. "I'm not going to do a damn thing. If Father wants you handled, he can do it himself."

That made her laugh. She almost fell over from the force of it, causing X6 to grab her arm. When she finally calmed down, she couldn't help but say, "Damn. I've really screwed you up, haven't I?"

He shrugged, doing his best to keep his serious expression. "I'm not sure if I'd call it that."

"Yeah," Nuke grinned, noticing that he hadn't let go of her arm. "Me neither."


	27. Chapter 27

Giskard shook his head and gnashed his teeth. There were changes to his body that he recognized, and Faraday had explained them, but he had to get used to them.

"And don't mention them to anyone," He had been ordered.

Pawing at his face one last time, he stood and looked to the direction of the General. It had been several days since the last visit of her Courser friend, but Giskard still hadn't asked the question on his mind; the only person he trusted with it was Nick Valentine.

As if on cue, the detective laid a hand on the dog's head. "Come on," He urged. "We'll ask her together."

Almost sadly, the dog padded alongside his confidant.

Nuke wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. She seemed preoccupied. "The same scent?" She repeated, and looked off into the distance. "X6 and the Deathclaw?"

"Right," Nick nodded his head, glancing around to try to glean what could be distracting her. "Giskard detected something, and he said  _you_ should have been able to detect it, too."

Finally Nuke gave them her full attention. "Well," she looked down at her braced leg. "This might sound ridiculous, but I think it was the teleportation."

"Yeah?"

Lifting her eyes to the sky, she recalled a memory that felt like a lifetime ago. "Ozone is the chemical I smelled. I'm not sure if it's  _actually_ that or just similar. But that's what  _I_ detected whenever X6 used his teleportation."

"So," Nick straightened, now asking questions of his own. "Is it like that little device they gave you?"   
She hesitated. "I guess. Courser chips aren't entirely trackers. They have to be manually activated and emit a radio signal before it can be received, and the Courser can be teleported. X6 confirmed that my device is pretty much the same technology, just bigger."

"Explains why Acadia still exists," He said with a shrug, thinking of Chase.

"I know the Institute has teleported Deathclaws before." She said it with a tone of finality. "The one that attacked me when I first got to Diamond City was one instance."

Though he didn't need it, Nick drew in a deep breath and let it out. "So it stands to reason that the other one was, too."

If she was being honest, Nuke didn't want to think about it. If Giskard hadn't been there, the monster would have certainly killed Revy. But, she thought, Revy wouldn't have  _been_ there if it weren't for Giskard. So which one were they  _really_ after? It wasn't a surprise to her that the Institute would want either, or both, of them gone.

"You think this is enough of a reason to go after them?"

Nick flinched. "What, by yourself?"

For a second, she almost considered it. "I mean, first we have to figure out who's been doing all this."

Deadpan, Nick reminded her, "The Institute."

"No," Despite everything, she chuckled. "I mean  _who_ in the Institute."

"I'll give you one guess."

She bristled. "I know it wasn't X6. You think he blew up the Prydwen by himself? You think he'd try to hurt my kid?"

Taking a step back, Nick softened his tone. "I don't wanna get you more worked up, doll, but you can't deny that you favor him a little bit. You think you're a little blinded by it?"

"Enough, enough."

Giskard whined, and whatever he said was enough to get Nick to apologize.

Putting a hand on the General's shoulder, Nick whispered a promise to help. To discover who was  _really_ responsible, he said.

The General's eyes still held suspicion.


	28. Chapter 28

_"I can't tell you that, X6-88."_

_"I just want to know who authorized it."_

_"Was I not clear? It's not your information to know."_

_"Sir..."_

_"This isn't quite like you, now is it? Leave me be."_

_"A young girl was put in danger. She has done nothing."_

_"X6-88, you've been given an order."_

_"...Yes, sir."_


	29. Chapter 29

It was a cold morning. The General was pacing uneasily; though she couldn't determine why, she wondered if it had something to do with the behavior of her daughter.

Revy was sitting at the base of the Castle's east wall, staring up. She had been there all morning, but wasn't answering questions.

Finally Nuke approached her, and asked her for the fourth time what she was looking at.

"I thought you could see her," she said for the second time, not looking away. "So I guess you can't hear her, either."

Nuke stared up at the vacant wall, and decided to take a guess. "Do you mean the mountain lion? The one from the Island?"

At last, Revy turned to her mother, but she wasn't smiling. "She's been here since yesterday. I think she's trying to say something, but I can't understand her. Something's wrong."

Before Nuke could respond, there was burst of light from somewhere behind them. The sound was familiar, as was the scene of ozone. Confused, the General turned and ran to the dark-clad, hunched figure, but was surprised at their identity.

"...Chase?"

It was immediately apparent that she was injured. The General called for medical aid and crouched down, not asking any questions.

Chase's eyes were frantic, but she was too hurt to move. One arm was clutching over her stomach. It took her a moment to be able to speak, but she barely needed to.

_Everyone_ , Nuke's ears picked up.  _They took everyone._

There wasn't a lot of time to explain to anyone else, or even to plan. Reluctantly handing Chase off to the medical staff, Nuke stood straight, fists clenched. Her leg ached beneath its brace.

Danse was immediately beside her. He also barely felt the need to ask questions, but wanted to know what her plans were.

"I've had it," She said. "Get Giskard for me."


	30. Chapter 30

For a while now, Nuke's device that allowed her entrance to the Institute had been out of commission. With the help of Sturges she had completely disassembled and re-assembled it, and she wasn't totally sure if it still worked. But, they had figured out  _how_ it worked. To Sturges, it had somehow seemed familiar, and the thought made him scowl. He had mostly come to terms with his identity as a synth, but wasn't quite ready to attribute his love for tinkering to his time in the Institute.

Together, they had created quite a few reverse-teleporters. It was never  _not_ a plan to jailbreak every synth from what was basically their prison - it was just a matter of when Nuke would get to it.

She hadn't planned for it to come so soon, and she also hadn't planned to need almost twice as many teleporters. But she was pleasantly surprised to see that she had nearly enough of them, judging by some quick math.

"These should be enough for everyone in Acadia, plus a whole bunch of others," she mused, filling a secure satchel with the amazingly tiny devices. "There's also still a couple exit points in the actual Institute, and most synths there know about it by now." She grinned. It had been a while ago, but she hoped they all still remembered what she had taught them. "And," She glanced at Giskard. "We have the contingency plan."

Giskard, understanding, pawed lightly at his mouth.

Chase had been the only one to escape Acadia. Nuke had slipped her a teleporter during her last visit, indicating that it was experimental, and that she hoped to have time to test it. Unfortunately, the test had been its real first use, but  _fortunately,_ nothing had gone wrong during the transport.

The time for testing was over, and it had to be assumed that the rest would work. The alternative was essentially death for every synth now held captive within the Institute.

"Target Acadians first and get them to safety," Nuke told Giskard. "Don't engage unless someone is hostile. If they're hostile,  _kill them."_

Giskard nodded. Synths took priority over non-synths, and Acadians over anyone else. Anyone who decided to fight back would be making the last mistake of their life.

Danse had been assigned to Revy-distracting duty. He was  _not_ going to the Institute, ever, if Nuke could help it. Most of the other Minutemen were tending to Chase or security duty.

Nick was leaning against the entryway, watching Nuke with curious yellow eyes. "So," he mused, not smiling. "What happens when you run into your Courser down there?"

She looked up and met his gaze, but said nothing as she activated the teleporter she was holding.

In a flash, she and Giskard were gone.


	31. Chapter 31

"The Brotherhood wasn't always so aggressive," Danse said with the light tone he always used with his daughter. "There was a time when they focused on helping people, not just collecting technology."

Revy, perched on her parents' bed, idly swung her legs while petting her father's beloved cat. Since Danse found her, Ferra's coat had become much sleeker. Revy silently compared the look of it to her own eternally scruffy hair.

"It was under Owyn Lyons that the Brotherhood took on a mission of altruism--" Danse paused. "--I mean, they helped others."

She looked up at her father. There was a strange look on her face. She didn't say anything, but made it clear that she was listening.

"I used to agree with everyone currently in the Brotherhood, that that part of our-  _their_ history was a misstep. 'Too charitable for their own good', I said."

"Can you be too nice?" Revy asked, returning half her attention to the cat.

"Some believed that Wastelanders didn't  _deserve_ charity from others."

Her brow furrowed. "Like me? Isn't that what I am?"

Danse took a breath and tried to change the subject. "Yes, but I think differently now. I think it's a  _good_ thing to help others. When Lyons passed away, his daughter took over as Elder."

"Oh," Revy said. "There's girls in the Brotherhood too? I haven't seen any."

He didn't want to withhold anything from his daughter, so he continued. "She was an amazing fighter and held the rank of Sentinel. Very high, very important. But she was... killed in battle shortly after becoming Elder. Her name was Sarah Lyons."

"Sarah Lyons," Revy parroted, looking around the room. "I heard that before."

"...You have? When?"

"I dunno."

He was curious, but knew interrogating a child would most likely lead nowhere. So he continued his story, telling her the history of how the Brotherhood resisted change so sternly. Eventually he joined her on the bed, and tried to hide his joy when she climbed into his lap.

"Where's mom?" She finally asked during a brief pause.

He stiffened. "She'll be back."

"Soon?"

_I hope so,_ was what he wanted to say. But to convince both himself and his daughter, he simply responded, "Of course."


	32. Chapter 32

They appeared in the middle of the Institute's main atrium. Seeing people immediately flee from her, Nuke was filled with a sick satisfaction. They all knew they'd been caught.

Luckily, none of them had started shooting yet.

Nuke took her revolver from inside her jacket. "Alright Giskard," she sighed, "Let's get this long-awaited bullshit over with."

Some ran. Most surrendered. Others fought back, but quickly fell. Nuke's message was quite clear:

"I'll kill everyone in this goddamn building who doesn't go quietly."

Synth after synth took hold of the small devices Nuke was shoving into their hands - their first grip of freedom.

Eventually she came upon the escape tunnel. Non-synth Institute inhabitants were flocking to it, and she let many of them go after disarming them. Some wound up escaping alongside synths.

_It's fine,_ she reminded herself.  _We're waiting for them on the other side._

The Minutemen, of course. By then, they'd definitely gotten to where the tunnel let out, in order to secure  _everyone_ emerging from it.

Some people, she noticed, looked almost  _too_ frightened to see Giskard. Surely he was a terrifying sight, but a few comments made her pause.

"It's still alive!?" One scientist asked before dropping his weapons in shock, and raising his hands pathetically. But he refused to answer further questioning, and there wasn't time for it, anyways.

Giskard regretting having to bite the more reluctant synths, but in such a panicked state, there was no other way. He was as gentle as he could be, sinking a single detachable tooth into their legs. When he pulled back, the miniature device was activated, and the synth was teleported to safety.

Acadia wasn't a heavily populated settlement, but there were still a lot of people to rescue. With Giskard detecting them, they managed to locate the wing where most of them were being held - for  _reprogramming,_ of course.

_Those_ Institute agents tried fighting back a little harder, but it was all in vain. Even so, Nuke kept one of them alive to demand answers.

She had him by the collar, with Giskard's teeth sunk into his ankle. Her rage was reaching its boiling point, and she wasn't sure she could keep her cool much longer.

"The p-p-prototype?" He stammered, weakly pointing to a door on the right. "And t-t-the one he was w-with," His hand nearly dropped, but gestured to the opposite side of the room.

The man hit the tile floor with a dull sound. Nuke sprinted to the second door, and Giskard crashed through the first.


	33. Chapter 33

Two Coursers were standing over the huddled, bloodied body of Faraday. Later, Nuke would learn that he had been chosen for "interrogation" rather than an immediate mind wipe, but for now, she only knew  _wrath._

Coursers were tough. Of course she knew that. But she also knew that deep down, they really were just human. Even someone like a Courser couldn't shake off live ammunition to the head.

In a normal circumstance, she may have felt a bit guilty. She knew the Coursers. They called her  _ma'am._ As they fell, she tried not to look at their faces. There was still just a little bit of that uncomfortable feeling when she knelt down to Faraday and cradled him carefully.

His usually shining blue eyes were dull and sunken. So desperately he wanted to say her name, and thank her for being there. But he was out of words, and he could only glance sadly at the door.

She knew his gaze was going past the door, across the room, and into the opposite room.

"I'll get him," she said. "You're all going to be safe. Chase is alright, she's at the Castle. You don't have to worry about anything."

Faraday made a weak sound. His face was streaked with blood, and the source was the top of his head. Nuke hoped it wasn't too serious, but his grip on her hand was shaky.

Carefully, she slid a teleporter into his palm. She was running low on them. "Just take this. You'll get out of here."

"Not... without--"

"Sorry." Grimacing, she activated it for him. His expression of pain just before he disappeared broke her heart, but this was no time for sentiment. She wasn't even sure she could keep the promise she'd just made to him.

She got up and went to the door, but hesitated. After one glance back to the bodies of the Coursers, a small sound distracted her. She looked down at the red mark on the floor.

In an instant her resolve returned. The door opened and she stormed through it, across the room, her clenched fists stained with Faraday's blood.


	34. Chapter 34

_Too late? Too late?_

Giskard's mind was frantic as he struggled to balance himself on what looked like an examination table. It heaved under his weight, and he ignored it. He whined audibly as he stared down at what he recognized as the face of DiMA.

His blank, unresponsive face.

Most of his upper body remained, but that was all. He had been almost completely disassembled. The sight of it made Giskard feel oddly - anxious, almost  _sick,_ with a tinge of anger that was quickly growing.

He whined again and leaned his head down, desperately trying to communicate. He silently spoke DiMA's name over and over, thinking of how Nuke's eyes glimmered when she spoke of him, and Revy's wide smile as she sat in his lap.

Then he thought of Faraday, and he felt that almost sick feeling again.

_You can hear me, can't you?_ Faraday had asked, without any words.  _You can hear what synths think?_

Giskard's tail had been wagging so fast, it was barely visible.

_I think if you practice,_ he said with a bright smile,  _You might be able to hear everyone else someday, too._

Out of sheer frustration, Giskard barked. He wanted to see Faraday smile like that again, and he knew he never would if something happened to DiMA. He pawed at the remains of DiMA's chest hopelessly.

Nuke suddenly burst into the room, and a wave of deeper grief overcame Giskard.

He looked over at her, his red eyes dimming and his mouth hanging open in helplessness. He didn't know what to do.

She didn't either, but the dog's sad display forced her to hide her own despair. "Faraday is safe," she said quickly, and loudly. Resting her hands on the table, she watched DiMA for any signs of life. "He's hurt but alright. I got him out and he should be at the Castle now."

Nothing.

"And everyone else. We got all the Acadians and the rest of the synths to safety." She wasn't sure if it was completely true - some Acadians had possibly already had their memories erased, and perhaps some synths had been killed in the escape. But she had done what she could. "I did everything I could."

Giskard whined. He knew she had, and wished he could thank her for trying so hard. He noticed her hands were shaking. Looking at her again but unable to make eye contact, he concentrated and thought about what Faraday had told him.

Tears were welling in her eyes. "Don't tell me I failed you," she said, her voice quivering. "Don't tell me I got this far but couldn't save  _you._ You're all that some of them have."

All of a sudden, Giskard heard it. It sounded far away, like it came from the other side of the Institute. But it was in the back of his head, and as it repeated, it became clearer. He concentrated harder, trying to force his focus.

After a good few seconds of trying, he could hear it.

_"How am I supposed to tell Faraday you're dead?"_

The thought was in Nuke's voice, though she hadn't spoken it aloud.

With newfound vigor, Giskard turned back to the inert DiMA and howled. It was a piercing sound that echoed all throughout the room, and it was just as mournful as a real wolf's. But Giskard's howl wasn't one of sadness - it was out of  _accomplishment._

_I did it,_ he broadcasted his thoughts to anyone who could hear.  _I can hear her when she doesn't speak, and you need to wake up so I can tell you._

Nuke was looking away. For a moment, she didn't see DiMA's eyes glimmer to life.


	35. Chapter 35

"Quiet now, Giskard." DiMA's voice sounded heavy and strained. "Don't make such a fuss over me."

Like she'd seen a ghost, Nuke's face was pale and stark.

But DiMA just smiled, as much as he could. "And you, too. Dry those tears."

She wanted an explanation, but knew there wasn't time. Unfortunately when she opened her mouth, DiMA spoke anyway, and she couldn't physically bring herself to interrupt him.

A shutdown, he said. Voluntary. The newer Institute scientists didn't know how he worked, so of course they assumed he couldn't be activated anymore. But he was very glad the two of them had shown up before they'd taken apart the rest of him.

"Unfortunately," He continued, his voice wheezing. "I may still be dying."

She still couldn't say anything. With a swipe of her hand, one of two remaining teleporters was attached to DiMA's chest; with both of his hands gone, it was the only option.

He smiled at her as he vanished, knowing why she couldn't return the expression.

The room went silent, and finally Nuke found her voice.

"Giskard," She breathed, staring at the empty table. "Can you track down X6-88 for me?"


	36. Chapter 36

As Giskard's metal paws slammed against the pure, clean floors of the Institute, Nuke tried to gather her thoughts and emotions. Together they whirled around corners, ascended flights of stairs, and finally came to the door they needed.

She recognized it, and knew who would be behind it - the two remaining people in the building, other than herself. Right as she dismounted Giskard, the door opened and she stepped through.

But the door shut directly behind her, sealing Giskard out.

Immediately he flew into a frenzy, slamming himself against the door with wild howls.

"Tell your beast to calm itself," The voice of Father snapped. "Or  _none_ of us get out of here."

Nuke followed the order, and the other side of the door fell reluctantly silent. Her eyes were locked onto a device in Father's hands. She only had a guess as to what it could be, but any possible option was bad.

The room had changed since her first meeting with Father. There was a new structure in the corner that looked like a miniature version of...

"Admiring my work?" Father's demeanor shifted to out-of-place hospitality as he gestured to the corner. "Well, not  _mine._ I designed it, though. A nice emergency escape, in case some crazed woman ever decided to turn on us."

Her stomach flipped and she failed to bite her tongue. "I never worked for you in the first place."

"On the contrary," He put out his hand to the other figure in the room. "Remember our little deal? You helped us out quite a bit as you spent quality time with my best Courser."

X6-88's face was expressionless, half-hidden by his sunglasses, of course. But something about his posture was off.

"So," Father stepped around the table in the center of the room, toward Nuke. "What's your endgame, here? You've cleared out my Institute and presumably stolen my synths. What now, for your poor little self?"

The automatic movement of her eyes betrayed her silence.

"Ah," said Father. "You're here for  _him."_ He chuckled, but it was laced with malice. "Every other Courser's signal in this building went dark from deactivation. You killed every one of my Coursers but this one. And you want to save him."

X6 still said nothing, and hadn't moved.

_He's just an old man,_ Nuke's mind told her.  _What could he do?_ But there was always something about Father that made her nervous. Even  _scared_ her. He  _was_ an old man - a sick and dying one, even - but there was always a hint of suspicion behind his eyes. He had never trusted her, and always seemed to be a step ahead.

"How did you find Acadia?" She blurted, and felt deep relief when he stopped walking.

"Oh," He smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know? I'd tell you, since you're probably about to die, but I'm not so foolish as to believe you'd go away so easily." He took another step. "Either way, it's thanks to that iron wolf of yours."

She  _knew_ that bullet had been a tracking device. Of course. Simple, but effective. They'd nearly won.

_Nearly._

Father may have been deceptively clever, but Nuke was still faster. She had her gun drawn, but he didn't look very concerned.

"X6-88," He commanded, keeping his eyes forward. "Deal with our hostile intruder. That's an order."

When X6 hesitated, Father looked ever so slightly shaken.

"I've given you an order, unit X6-88."

He opened his mouth, but someone had heard his thoughts before he had a chance to speak them.


	37. Chapter 37

The door buckled under the force of Giskard's body rocketing through it. He bared his teeth, though many were missing at this point. His eyes flashed from X6 to Father, and he growled.

Father had his own gun drawn, aimed at the startled Nuke. He warned that if anyone were to move, he would pull the trigger.

"Sir."

The tone of the short word made Father's blood run cold. When he turned to face his last remaining Courser, he found himself staring down a gun barrel.

"I implore you to reconsider."

Truthfully, Father wasn't very surprised. He had wanted to believe that, all this time, X6-88 had remained entirely loyal to the Institute. But it had become increasingly obvious that his devotion was wavering.

Coursers were not supposed to be  _capable_ of defecting.

Bitterly, he remembered the one who had vanished so long ago. His only female Courser. Had she truly been the first one to betray him?

Father whirled his gun around to his side and pulled the trigger. He turned to look and was happy to see he had hit his target - only in the shoulder, but it had hit.

Regret came to him with two more gunshots. His legs buckled under him, his knees completely shattered from the force of the impact.

Nuke was standing over him, her eyes blazing. She glared at him for just a second without words, before running to X6's side.

He was clutching his side, and his sunglasses had fallen to the ground. "I'm fine," he insisted despite his horrific wound. He knew Father hadn't used regular bullets, or they wouldn't have pierced his coat. He wondered if Father had planned on having to kill a Courser.

Nuke had one remaining stimpak, and she fumbled it into his hands as she urged him to escape with her.

Beside them, Giskard whined in concern. He could hear them both, and wished desperately that he could speak for them.

X6 looked over at the emergency teleporter. It would fit one person at a time. He wanted to say more, but pain shot through him and he faltered.

"Shit," Nuke was almost panicking. She tried to lean him against a wall; with all her focus on X6, Father was long forgotten.

Far below them, something rumbled.

X6 cursed, then tried and failed to get up. "You didn't--" He was glaring daggers at Father. "You'll kill us all!"

"No one in this room deserves to live," Father choked, his blood-soaked hand gripping the small device. "I won't allow the filth above us to have  _anything_ of ours."

More shaking down below made it clear - the Institute was collapsing. Father's final fail-safe had been complete erasure.

"Take this."

He knew what it was. It looked almost identical to the teleporter Nuke had been given so long ago.

"Get  _out_ of here, X6."

He looked at her. "Me, and not you? This is your last one, isn't it?"

"Just go, for god's sake! I'll take the emergency one!"

He took a few breaths. The entire building was shaking dangerously, and things were starting to fall to the floor. The lights flickered.

"Just press the button, would you!?"

He hated seeing her so frantic and upset, but he knew there was no way to calm her down. So he settled on making her feel worse - he thrust his hand out to Giskard, and planted the teleporter on him, activating it.

Giskard vanished in a blast of blue light.

Nuke was out of words. She stood and forced X6 to his feet despite his cry of pain. Struggling with his weight, she dragged him to the teleporter. They had seconds to get out,  _maybe._

He tried to say her name.

"You get your stupid ass in that teleporter before  _I_ shoot you," she clenched her jaw and tried to shove him through the open door. "I swear to  _god,_ X6, the bullshit I've put up with for you-"

He was weak, but not incapacitated, and Nuke was very light. It took him barely any effort to slip out of her grasp and get behind her.

She didn't have time to react and was slammed against the back wall of the teleporter.

"For me, huh?" He gave his best attempt at a smile. "Well, thank you."

The door shut on her before she could say anything, but she flung herself at it anyway.

He knew she was talking, but he couldn't hear her. And he didn't want to. With a final glance back at Father, he entered the code to activate the teleportation. Nuke couldn't possibly have known it; this was the only outcome.

She saw him smile one last time before everything vanished.


	38. Chapter 38

"Oh, Dad,"

He turned and saw her staring at the floor.

"I remember where I heard about her. Sarah Lyons."

He waited until she looked up.

"The cat. The big cat told me."

"Cat?"

"On the Island. But she followed us back. She told me about Sarah."

He wanted to ask more. Revy was a rambunctious child, but not a liar. And he had heard about some  _cat_ before from Nuke. Surely they wouldn't  _both_ lie about such a thing. He smiled and took a step toward her.

The earth began to shake.


	39. Chapter 39

Everyone could only stare. The Minutemen at the Castle were joined by so many escaped synths, with another battalion securing the former Institute dwellers. Luckily, the latter had gotten far from the Institute before it became nothing more than a crater.

The detonation had occurred in the basement, destroying the foundational structure and causing a massive collapse.

Only Revy saw her mother appear. She had barely even had time to register Giskard's return.

Nuke fell to her knees after trying to slam her fists on a pane of glass that was no longer there. She felt grass beneath her bloodied hands and wished it were white tile. She couldn't feel the quaking beneath her; her body was numb.

Alerted by the sound of Revy crying, Danse bolted over.

Nuke heard his questions -  _Are you hurt? Is this your blood?_ \- and could only shake her head. No, no. Not  _me_ , it's  _them_ you need to help. She tried sputtering out pathetic words over the cacophony happening around her.

"What is it?" He leaned close to her and whispered, supporting her with one arm but not forcing her to get up. "What do you need?"

Her mind began to triage.  _Forget X6, he's dead,_ it told her. And it tore her heart in two, but she had to move on. There was someone in more critical condition.

"DiMA?" Danse asked, and his heart sunk. Oh,  _DiMA._ His systems were failing and barely anyone could get past the hysterical, also critically injured Faraday to help.

But could he tell her that?

"Bring us to DiMA," Nuke told him, with the tone of an order. "Me and Giskard. We need to see him."

As gently as he could, Danse asked his daughter to go to her room as he lifted her bloody, blank-faced mother into his arms.


	40. Chapter 40

She'd wanted to see DiMA, but the sight of him made her go blank. For what felt like the first time in her life, Nuke had no ideas on what to do. She sat quietly in a chair nearby, staring at the floor.

Even Faraday's repeated shouts, his begging for her to help, did nothing. His head was wrapped to nurse his wound, but he refused to get off his feet. He was aware of Giskard trying to speak to him, but could barely hear him through the pounding in his mind.

So Chase, still hurt herself, tried to calm everyone down.

Nuke barely heard what she said. She didn't even hear the quiet sobbing of Revy, who was clinging to her leg and asking her over and over what happened to Uncle DiMA.

She may have heard something about the Railroad, perhaps in Chase's voice. Could they help? She didn't really know what was being said. If DiMA was beyond saving, it would mean she was responsible for the deaths of  _two_ people who meant the world to her. And in DiMA's case, to many other people.

Chase gave the General one final sad look before addressing the room. If no one else would take charge,  _she_ would. There had to be  _someone_ they could go to for help.

"I heard a rumor," said Danse, collecting his daughter from the ground and cradling her like she was a toddler. "The Railroad... they have some interesting technology. I don't think it would be such an outlandish idea to ask for their help."

Giskard barked, happy someone was finally making sense. He had an idea, himself, but he didn't want to tell anyone until they were there, to make sure everyone would cooperate. He ran to the door and pawed at it. With DiMA's vitals in the state they were, every second was crucial.  _Follow me, follow me,_ he ordered. He didn't like speaking with such intensity, but it made him feel something close to pride when Faraday and Chase stood to attention.

Danse nodded to him silently. Of course, he'd stay behind.

Though Giskard couldn't speak to Danse, he could hear him. And he heard his order clearly:

_Lead them to help. Everyone is counting on you_

Red eyes gleaming, he burst through the door as soon as Chase opened it.

Revy watched him go, and began to sob again.


	41. Chapter 41

Everything was beginning to change. When Giskard returned to Revy, he sat and stared at her with eyes that looked the same but felt somehow different. Chase and Faraday tried to explain it to her - something about a memory transfer - but she didn't understand any of it. All she knew was that when she said "Giskard", the dog's head would not turn back to her.

It was all over her head, and she wanted to hide under a bed until it was all over.

Her mother hadn't spoken in days. Even when Giskard went to her, she just looked at him blankly with nothing to say.

Danse was doing his best to keep everything from falling apart. In desperation, he reached out to the Brotherhood's medical officer once he was free.

Knight-Captain Cade wasn't thrilled about having aided Acadians and former Institute scientists, but he hadn't really had a choice. He had to follow Maxson's bizarre orders with no more dissent than a shrug. But he couldn't help feeling a bit of relief at seeing Danse again - even if  _he_ was one of those synths, too.

Cade looked over the General, initially quite concerned that she wouldn't even acknowledge his presence.  _Trauma_ was all he could really diagnose, and he asked Danse what had happened right before the Institute's destruction.

But Danse had no idea. No one had  _any_ idea, outside of assumptions about X6-88. With a grimace, Danse had to explain to Cade that Nuke was friends with a Courser.

Luckily, Cade didn't seem to mind. "The Institute's gone, isn't it?" He asked with a chuckle. "I can't really care what kind of company she keeps anymore if she managed something like that."

He didn't want to say it, but Cade had another concern about the General's health. While her full health exam revealed no injuries, he had to find a way to tell Danse that she had to be taking it easy. Under normal circumstances, it would have been  _positive_ news from a doctor...

But Danse just rubbed his temples and glanced toward the door. In the end, it would be  _Preston's_ responsibility, but he wasn't about to shirk his responsibility to his wife just because it wouldn't be  _his_ child. Having just Revy around was a handful, and he still didn't consider himself very good with children...

They would figure it out, he assured Cade. They figured  _everything_ out. The support network the Minutemen had become were stronger than anything, and they could get through it all.

Cade, unable to do much more, was comforted by the sentiment, and returned to the airport as soon as he could.

When Revy heard, she wasn't sure what to think. Part of her felt happy at the idea of a sibling (technically a half-sibling, but she would never care about technicalities), but most of her resented it. She wanted her dog back, and she wanted her mother to speak again.

For the first time in her life, Revy wanted things to stop changing.


	42. Chapter 42

The world around Revy became very busy. Everyone had a lot to focus on; resettling the rescued synths, helping the Acadians return to their home, and figuring out what to do with the Institute scientists, who were all being held as prisoners...

It was certainly too much for a child to worry about. She was glad, at least, that Faraday had elected to remain behind for the time being. Chase returned to Acadia with the first group of refugees as soon as possible, though she was reluctant to split up their group. Unfortunately,  _someone_ had to be a temporary sole leader.

So Revy was able to sneak away when the adults were distracted. The only place she could ever think to go was the Atom Cats garage nearby. The Cats always welcomed her warmly, though they always asked if her dog was back to normal yet.

Sometimes, Giskard went with her. Or what used to  _be_ Giskard. He was still acting differently, and Revy still didn't understand it despite Faraday's attempts at explanation. Always, though, he would promise her that Giskard would return to normal once he had some more things figured out.

Giskard - or who everyone was  _calling_ Giskard, still - had a lot on his mind. More than anyone should. In a way, he had two minds happening in his brain at once. He did his best to push himself down as to not endanger the other, but often the two would have conversations.

_Revy looks so concerned,_ said the new voice, soft and dear and familiar.  _Is there anything we can do?_

_Her world is changing,_ Giskard responded.  _She doesn't like it._ To answer the question, he said,  _No. We can do nothing but be there._

_If only I could speak to her and explain it all,_ the soft voice sighed.

_There are other ways to communicate,_ said Giskard, almost indignantly, though he would never dream of intentionally using such a tone.  _But I'm not sure she wants to understand._

_Fair enough._

One pair of eyes was watching Revy as she wandered the garage aimlessly, but two beings were seeing her. It broke both of their synthetic hearts knowing that neither of them could do much to help her.


	43. Chapter 43

Even the Brotherhood of Steel could not escape the wave of change sweeping the Commonwealth. A team of soldiers had rushed to the site of the former Institute as soon as safety allowed; their official stance was that whatever salvageable technology remained had to be protected from raiders.

Maxson was surprised to feel his stomach turn at the recovery of the body of Father. He didn't know the man himself, but had developed enough of an opinion from the testimony of captured scientists. Perhaps he had expected more. At his feet was the corpse of an old man, driven mad with power like those from before the war. He was nothing more than part of an amorphous enemy Maxson had always hated, and yet something about it all unsettled him.

"Sir!"

The call snapped him out of his thoughts and he regained his focus immediately. Someone had found something else.

Something important? He wanted to ask, but he saw what it was and went silent.

_Someone else._

"They're alive" was all Maxson had to hear before giving an order to return to the airport. He declared that they were to receive immediate medical attention.

_"Save him,"_ was the official order.

The squadron leader - Maxson's top Star Paladin, Faust - hesitated. "Save one of  _them?"_ he wanted to ask, but as ordered, he bit his tongue and hoisted the body over his power armored shoulder. He gave one last glance to Maxson as he passed by him.

After all, who was he to defy the commands of an Elder?


	44. Chapter 44

All survivors of the Institute's destruction were considered refugees. The scientists were held with more suspicion than the synths, though without their technology, they were mostly harmless. Many had never had malicious intent to begin with - it was simply all they knew.

Within a few weeks, all surviving Acadians had been returned to their home. Many others went with them, still feeling the Commonwealth was not a safe place.

The biggest problem was a small population of the rescued synths. Their affliction was one the Railroad was unfortunately familiar with - mind "resets", or wipes, had been attempted on them, but something had gone wrong. Essentially, they were bodies without minds.

Desdemona was overseeing them, honestly surprised that the Institute also hadn't perfected the procedure. She consulted the General about possible solutions.

"Nick," She said softly to her nearby companion. "You could-"

"Absolutely not." His word was final. His body may be falling apart, he said, but it was his. He would only do something like that if it was absolutely required.

Of course, he was referring to how one of these transfers had already taken place. Giskard's mind was once again only his own, and DiMA's had taken up residence in one of the aforementioned "mindless" bodies; the Railroad had decided on the term "Unresponsive", to reduce dehumanization.

But so much had been happening, the General barely had time to focus on any of it. Luckily, she had many people beside and behind her. Unfortunately, she didn't have any ideas for the Unresponsives.

"There's nothing left of the Institute," she sighed. "We couldn't even do something like transfer some of the Gen 2s." She seemed to say it mostly for the benefit of Glory, who was standing tensely by. "I suppose for now, they'll all need caretakers."

Desdemona nodded. "You know, you should really focus on taking care of  _yourself_ , for now." It was maybe the third time she had suggested it during their meeting; Nuke guessed she was called over mostly for a sort of intervention. "This much stress can't be good for the b-"

_"I know."_ She regretfully snapped, and said nothing more about it. "Keep me updated on everyone's status, at least."

Solemnly, Des assured her she would, realizing there was nothing else she could do for the General. She admired her, the tumultuous young thing she was, and she didn't want to see the Wasteland completely turn her around.

"Should we get you home, then?" Nick asked, a hesitant hand floating near the General's side. "It's been over an hour. Danse ought to be worried sick by now."

Despite it all, she returned his smile.

"By the way," Nick said on the way home. "There won't ever be a good time to tell you this, but the  _Brotherhood_ has summoned you, too."


	45. Chapter 45

The strange man crouched down in front of Revy. Something was familiar about his smile. His eyes were different, his whole face and everything  _about_ him was different... But when he spoke, she knew him.

Faraday was beside him, nervously gesturing. "DiMA, she doesn't  _know_ you like this.  _I_ barely do. Go easy on her."

"Do you know me, Revy?" He asked sweetly.

Really, it was just his body that was different. Sure, his eyes were a different color, but they looked at her the same way as they did when they had been blue, cloudy, and artificial. His voice was the same calm, comforting timbre and tone, but without the metallic muffle. Everything that mattered was there.

"Uncle DiMA," she said with a smile. "You got a new body?" In her mind, there wasn't much odd about it. She knew people like her Uncle Nick, and even Giskard, had bodies that sometimes needing repairing. Parts could be replaced. She hadn't seen someone get an  _entire_ new body before, but it wasn't outside of what she considered possible.

Faraday looked the same, she noted with relief. Though he seemed a bit worse for wear, and looked far more exhausted than usual.

"We're going to go home to Acadia now," DiMA told her, patting her on the head quickly before standing. "But we wanted to say hello to you before we did. And I want to apologize for borrowing Giskard for so long."

Had it been long? While Giskard was gone, it had felt like an eternity. But in reality, it had been more like a week. Maybe two. With all the chaos, the days tended to blur. Revy shrugged. "He's back now, so I'm happy. I know he had an important job to do." Most importantly, he was back to  _normal._ She couldn't really understand how DiMA had inhabited Giskard's mind for that short time, but what really mattered to her was that it was no longer happening.

Though the pair were glad for the overall satisfying outcome of their "visit" to the Commonwealth, they were anxious to return to Acadia. For the two of them, the mainland brought back too many bad memories, even with the Institute permanently gone. It had never quite been their home.

Revy stood by the shore with her parents, watching their boat leave. A strange feeling overcame her; she didn't want them to go, but more than that, she wanted things to return to normal. DiMA and Faraday brought her comfort and peace, but it was unnerving to have them at the Castle, rather than on the Island. Like she had thought about Giskard - the important part was that he had returned. He was  _normal_ again.

But she was slowly realizing that there no longer was a  _normal._ What she called  _normal_ was something so far in the past, despite only about a month having passed. The Institute was gone, whatever that meant to a child. Her Uncle DiMA looked different now. Her mother always looked tired, and her eyes were a bit sunken. She talked a lot less, too.

But the General seemed to suddenly come to life one day, when returning from a meeting with the Railroad. She had barely greeted Revy before she needed to depart for, of all places, the airport across the harbor.

Whatever it was, Revy was happy to see a shine in her eyes again.


	46. Chapter 46

_Do you remember? Can you remember anything?_

He had only half an answer. He didn't know where he was, or who was speaking to him. But, he didn't feel that he was in danger. For some reason, his muddled brain wanted to default to  _defense_ , but after thinking it through, there was no reason for it.

He was sitting up on what appeared to be an examination table. At least he recognized that. He looked around - the walls and ceiling were made of a thick fabric. A tent, he recognized. His body ached all over, and he felt vague, almost phantom stabs of pain in his abdomen. But the people around him assured him he was no longer injured.

For a few minutes, he tried to dig into his memories, or what was left of them. They were foggy and jumbled, and he did his best to grasp at any one of them.

Images of white hallways flashed in his tired mind's eye. White, white hallways, and plenty of people walking by him. Maybe their faces didn't look upon him so kindly. Or was he just making that up? Nothing felt solid.

Until it did. There was a very strong image, so suddenly. A young woman, a bit shorter than him. Her gray eyes blazed with defiance, but for some reason turned so  _kind_ when looking at him.

_Nuke._ Her name is Nuke. He spoke the name aloud, demanding to see her.

Within an hour, she was there. Her eyes were not alight with fire, but fear. Confusion.  _Shock_ was the right word, he decided, after careful consideration.

"You're alive...?" she breathed, then frantically looked between the five or so people in the tent.

None of them had answers for her, until another man stepped in. He was tall and imposing, and his long coat indicated had quite a bit of authority over everyone. The way they all stiffened at his entrance didn't hurt.

_Found in the wreckage,_ the man said.  _Alive._

"Why did you keep him alive?" The woman demanded, her tone sharp and accusatory. She was showing her teeth. "You know what he is. Everything about him, but-"

The man - his name was Maxson, apparently - raised his hand to quiet her. "At the time, I wouldn't have been able to answer that. But now..." He lowered his arm. "You have a way of finding everything out.  _I_ knew that if you  _ever_ discovered that I had found him, and left him to die..."

"...I'd kick your  _ass."_ She finished, and visibly relaxed. "So it was just because of that?" Her smile was slight, but knowing.

He returned the same expression and crossed his arms. "Of course. That's all it was, and that's all I'll ever hear about it. But my patience is running thin, so I'd prefer if you got him out of my hair."

Still coming to his senses, the exhausted man in the bed looked between the two. A tall, well-built man looking down at a young woman probably half his weight, with a playful respect on his face. Somehow, the two were as equals. Despite having only strands of memories, he was sure he would never quite understand their relationship.

Though he hadn't felt unsafe in the tent, he was relieved to be led out of it. When he saw the sky, more things started to come back to him. This was the Commonwealth, he knew. People lived here, and there had been a terrible war some time ago. A  _long_ time ago. Yet its effects were still present, and always would be.

Vaguely, he recalled a contempt for the people living in the Wasteland. But after considering it, he couldn't find sense in it.  _People_ were the reason he was alive, after all. The woman holding his hand and leading him to an incredibly walled building was a  _person_ as well.

Would his memories come back? Nuke told him his "name" was X6-88, and admitted to him that she had never quite liked it. Surprisingly, she asked if he'd like to be called something else.

As if he could have thought of something, off the top of his confused head! He shrugged, but made a suggestion: "You could help me think of one."

"Sure," she answered immediately. "But we'll wait for some more memories to come back. Do you know what a synth is?"

He wasn't sure, but his eyes felt pulled to a few individuals within the walls of what was called The Castle. "Them," he indicated, pointing. "They're synths, and so am I."

"Do you know what it means?"   
"Not really."

"That's alright. It's not necessary." She was smiling so warmly, he didn't mind that his brain felt so scattered. "I don't have all my memories, either. A while ago I woke up without most of them, like you did. Maybe some of yours will come back." She took a breath. "Or maybe not. Either way, you're alive, and you can keep going forward with us all, if you'd like."

"Sure," He said casually. "Do I have a choice?" He asked it with a laugh, indicating he didn't need an answer. Of course he was choosing this. He knew this woman's face, and he knew she cared for him.

Even if he couldn't quite remember anything, what else did he really need? Like she said, he was alive. He took a quick look around and smiled. It seemed like a nice enough place.

Surely, it was a good enough place to start a new life. He had a feeling that he wasn't the first to think so.


	47. Chapter 47

Though it felt like the entire Commonwealth had been thrown into chaos, things quickly settled down. The Minutemen regained their order, despite the General needing more care by the day. She hoped things would be alright without her, if just for a little while.

"We've got this," her many subordinates assured her. 

"The last thing you need to be doing is worrying." Preston urged.

"Just rest. We'll take care of everything." Danse's smile had become much more common, and it was encouraging.

She tried to. She truly did. She knew she was carrying a child - something she'd never done before - but she couldn't sit still. If she wasn't doing  _something,_ she felt, she wasn't  _helping_ anyone.

But, nevertheless, she could only push back so much. By the middle of every day, she was tired. She found herself staring up at the sky, reflecting over everything that had happened to her since she had woken up in this strange, new world. Though, it wasn't very new anymore.

Soon, even her current struggles would be old news, she realized. Soon, the destruction of the Institute will be so far behind her, there will be people meeting her who didn't even remember it.

That thought made her sigh in deep relief. Someday, too, the misguided fear of synths may pass everyone by. She tried to focus on the positivity of the thought, and not the realization that people usually found a replacement for their unfounded hatred once it faded.

But there was much more good news than bad in those days. The plants along the castle bastions persevered. The water ran clear. Radstorms still happened, but their tracking ledger showed larger and larger gaps. Raider attacks were nearly unheard of, and Supermutant populations had dwindled. Without the Institute kidnapping and transforming innocent people, the remaining hulking creatures actually began to calm down. Several of them had even approached the Castle recently, seeking supplies and peace.

It was almost unbelievable, but the General had gotten quite used to craziness in her handful of years in the Commonwealth. Finally, she could look forward with actual excitement at what could be to come.

With a hand on her stomach, she offered herself a slight correction:

Hopefully not  _too_ much excitement.


	48. Chapter 48

Time passed quickly as calm descended upon the Commonwealth. Many of the General's worries became things of the past, as she had hoped. Though she still gave proper guidance to the Minutemen under her command, many settlements had become mostly self-sufficient. Most communications were only during monthly check-ins and Commonwealth-wide meetings. 

The gatherings were held in different locations each time, as travel was still a bit grueling. Nuke liked to bring her young children to ones that were closer to the Castle; Revy was still quite wild, but knew how to behave when she needed to, and little Leo was getting old enough to be able to handle the trips.

Leo had his mother's gray eyes, and his father's soft demeanor. He was like a version of Preston who had never experienced strife and tragedy, and for that his father was very thankful. Already, his dream of raising a child in a better world than his own was coming true.

And Revy took to him immediately. Despite the complicated family dynamic, she had no trouble understanding that this young one was her brother. If anyone corrected her with the term "half-brother", she would remind them of how much it didn't matter.

"The world blew up," she liked to chirp, "and you're gonna get hung up over something like  _that!?"_

No one would deny that Preston was a wonderful father, but he was always unsure. Was this the right thing to do? To say? Was it okay to teach Leo to handle a gun? Sure, he  _wanted_ total peace, but the Commonwealth was still a harsh reality. He wanted his son to know how to protect himself, but to never become jaded. He wanted to keep him as far away from suffering as he could.

Being Preston's son, Leo loved the world. From the youngest age, he watched everything with wide, curious eyes. It didn't look broken or damaged to him - it was all he knew, and he loved it. Radstags and Brahmin had two heads, and that was a fact of life. Not at all "abnormal". He was the other side of what a child of the Commonwealth could be - full of hope, and seeing the beauty in the breakdown.

His demeanor even softened Revy, just a bit. As she grew, she gained a bit more control over her fits of rage, but her proficiency with a knife improved even moreso. She wouldn't ever hesitate to wield it against a threat, no matter what it was. Though raiders were scarce, she had taken to traveling farther and farther from the safe borders of Minuteman territory.

Giskard always went with her, of course. He didn't have much of a concept of the passage of time. To him, Revy would always be Revy, despite how tall she was or how she dressed. Her eyes held that permanent ferocity that he would always recognize.

And he watched Leo, too. The littlest one in the Castle grew quickly, and though he was much less wild than his sister, his curiosity outshone hers. He had a fair number of escapes under his belt by the time he turned ten, but all his guardians could rest easy, knowing the red eyes of Giskard were never far off.

When he was old enough to understand what it was, he told his parents he wanted to be General someday.

The current General was so relieved at the comment. It wasn't usually a hereditary position, but it also wasn't one that people were clamoring for. Even in times of peace, it was a severe responsibility... a word that Revy had absolutely no interest in.

"If that's what you want, you can work towards it," Preston told him, pulling the scrambly child into his lap. "But you can't give up if you get discouraged."

"No no," Leo said. "Never! That's one thing I know. You don't give up."

Nuke felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her. Leo was young, of course, but it was such a joy to physically see the future of the Minutemen. She hoped his momentum wouldn't burn out, and she would be careful not to be the cause of it.

While Leo's parents showered him with praise, the door to their room went un-knocked. A hand had been hovering just over it, but had stopped at the last second.

Revy couldn't help but tighten her jaw after hearing the conversation. But why? She wondered. Her mother knew what was true - she didn't  _want_ to take over being the General. Or really, have any sort of position in the Minutemen. And her mother had told her, over and over, that she was completely fine with her choice. She was nearly an adult, and she absolutely had that freedom.

She tried to dig the heel of her boot into the concrete floor, obviously to no avail. Her hand fell to her side and she turned to leave. Her head felt jumbled, and she couldn't quite understand what she was feeling.

Giskard, hearing her muddled thoughts, followed her sadly. In all his intelligence, he felt disappointed in himself for being unable to parse the reason for Revy's sudden change in mood.

But nevertheless, he followed her. He always would.


	49. Chapter 49

Her mother's steps slowed further. It was hard for her to walk, some days, and she spent a lot of her time resting.

Her father was always dutiful, splitting his time between caring for her and patrolling. It kept him busy, and fulfilled. They both had their purposes.

Preston spent time teaching Leo how the world worked. Things like how to use a gun, even if you don't want to. They even worked on teaching Leo's pet crow, Cobalt, how to track things. Leo had the lofty goal of teaching him how to talk.

Everyone at the Castle had something to do. Even the General's friend X6, returned from the dead so long ago, had found his way. Not all of his memories had returned completely; back then, he had remembered Revy's name, but nothing else about her. Still, Revy was comforted when he smiled at her.

Giskard remained by her side, ever vigilant. When Revy stared at the sky longingly, he looked with her.

The Castle's walls were beginning to constrict her. After so long of things staying the same, news came from across the river that Elder Maxson had disappeared. Just vanished. No one even dared to consider him dead - he was too stubborn for that, as Revy's mother put it.

But beyond that, no one seemed to  _do_ anything. Revy noticed more activity at the airport when she passed by. She started counting the vertibirds taking off and landing, and saw that the rate was increasing. Something was  _different._

"Star Paladin Faust is apparently in charge now," her mother told her while sitting at her table, tapping a pencil against some kind of document. Revy had  _mostly_ learned to read - she knew all her letters and a lot of common words, but sometimes putting sentences together could be hard for her. Whatever was on the table was surely too complicated for her.

She knew that name, and it put her on the defensive. He was the man who came by the Castle frequently, exchanging antagonizing words with her mother or whoever else was there to greet him. In the past, even after so many years had gone by, he had said less than favorable things about Revy's father. He loved to call him " _Former_ Paladin Danse", as if it mattered anymore.

Obviously, her mother was troubled by something. When Revy finally peered over her shoulder, she saw Giskard's name written several times. Something about the tracking device, and... Far Harbor?

"Mom," She leaned against the table. "That stuff happened when I was a kid, right?"

The General stared down at the paper intently, but wasn't reading it. "Yeah. But I think we're a lot less safe now than we were before."

"Cause Maxson's gone?"

Nuke's head snapped up. She wouldn't ever dare to say anything negative about her daughter, but she was honestly surprised at her level of perception sometimes. Especially considering how impulsively she tended to ask. But, she said nothing and put her head back down.

Revy slapped the table. "It's been what, two months? Do you think all those vertibirds are going to look for him, or what?"

"Vertibirds?"

"There's like, ten of 'em taking off every day!" She gestured wildly into the air. "I dunno where they even got all those. It's definitely more."

"Probably, then."

"Well it's obviously not working. You think things'll get bad if he doesn't come back?"

She couldn't know. She could only shrug. Assuming the worst might  _bring out_ the worst, and she didn't want to remotely appear as a threat to this newly-led Brotherhood. Star Paladin Faust was no Maxson, but he was  _far_ from predictable.

"I guess," the General sighed. Normally, she hated looking so vulnerable in front of her children. "I just don't know what to do."

Revy knew what she meant. So many years ago, when her father was in trouble, her mother had trekked across the Commonwealth to protect him. Now, that sort of thing was out of the question for her. She could make her way around the Castle alright, but anything prolonged was beyond her ability.

"I'll go."

She wanted to say no. She wanted to step up and be a parent like she always did. When she looked up at Revy, the face of a twenty-year-old was looking down at her, but all she could see was the terrified child, huddled in the back corner of a burned-down shack.

But she had to put it behind her. She knew Revy was suffering, being cooped up in a place where she felt she didn't quite fit in. She needed  _something else..._

"The damn cat's been screaming at me since all this started," Revy admitted. She barred her teeth at the thought of the spectral mountain lion, perched on the bastions, watching her with blank eyes. No one else saw it - not even her mother, anymore. And certainly no one heard it.

Nuke smiled, a bit relieved. "That lion's been bothering us for a while now, hasn't it?" As ridiculous as it sounded, she trusted the thing. It had led her to the power armor that became Giskard, after all. She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that it had stopped guiding  _her,_ but she was more than thankful that it had reappeared to guide her daughter. "Follow it, then."

Revy nodded despite how outlandish it all was. But then again, nothing in her family's life was quite  _normal_ , was it? Not a single damn thing she could think of was ordinary.

And she didn't mind one bit.

Before she could let her emotions get the better of her, she left the room to start preparing.


	50. Chapter 50

She left a few days later, as early in the morning as she could. At first she had tried to escape the notice of her parents, but before she could even take a step outside the Castle doors, she turned and ran back for them.

Giskard was to go with her, but not for the whole journey. He drew a lot of unneeded attention. Neither Giskard nor Revy liked the idea of them being separated, but it was necessary. They would both whine about it until the time came, and probably for some time after.

Revy had a rough exterior, and arguably a rough  _interior,_ but she found it so hard to push away from her parents' embrace. Her father's arms were strong and locked like a vice, and her mother's fingers clawed at her back. She loved them more than words could ever express, and she hoped someday she could repay them for all they had done for her.

This was the first step toward that, she told herself as so suddenly, the Castle was behind her. She often left to go on little adventures, but this felt so much more final. Of course, she would come back. She had to.  _Even if she died,_ she ridiculously told herself. The Commonwealth and the Castle were both her home, no matter what. Not even death would keep her from her little pocket of the East.

A rhythmic pattern of six footsteps headed out on the path. Ahead of them, the white-blue, smoky figure of the mountain lion walked steadily on. Occasionally, it glanced back at them, but its pace never slowed.

Revy forced herself not to look back.


End file.
